LEXINGTON, Ky. — With a powerful legacy, people around Lexington are remembering the life of one creative who made an impact in the community.
At RADIOLEX, community voices are invited to the spotlight. Kiah Arnold, a production tech, says it takes a committed team to run the almost 10-year-old community-based station.
She says Patrick J. Mitchell, who passed away on Sept. 12, was one of the few who added color to the airwaves and made it feel like home.
“Patrick J. Mitchell was love. He was light. He was somebody that just always had a smile on his face. He always talked about joy and not letting anybody steal your joy,” Arnold said.
A creative with a capital “C,” is how general manager Mark J. Royse described him. “It’s not often that you meet someone talented in a whole lot of different areas, and it’s just exciting to see somebody of mind kind of take different things and wrap their creativity around it,” Royse shared.
Mitchell hosted multiple shows, including “I’m Too Old for this” with Debra Logan Lawson and “Kiss of Lyfe.” He was also a photographer, actor, playwright and community justice advocate. His son Maxwell says advocacy was one of their passions.
“He knows how much I study a lot, whether it be a foreign language, whether it be trade skills, videography, editing, and what not, for the desire to translate that to giving back to the community,” Maxwell shared.
Maxwell says his father was driven by service and led by example. Now the community he was a part of is giving him one last standing ovation.
“Patrick Mitchell, you will truly be missed at Carolyn's Crown & Glory hair salon. you were one of my favorite clients for many years." Carolyn Dunn said about her longtime client and friend who she says always did caring acts.
“He was a friend to the Lyric, we have decided to do a display based on his work and to allow the community to come in and visit it in and celebrate all the things he’s done,” said Lyric Theatre Executive Director Christian Adair.
A true jack of all “media trades,” his work hit stages like the Pam Miller Downtown Arts Center and the historic Lyric Theatre & Cultural Center. That includes Mitchell’s last play “Waiting Room,” which highlighted choices before the afterlife.
“So many different situations of people having to make peace and correct things and bring closure before they were able to ascend,” Arnold explained.
Capturing so many other people’s stories, peers say he combined his gifts to encourage the next person, another passion he and his son promoted.
“When I was protesting at the end of my live stream, I would say, ‘I hope you all stay positive, stay encouraged, stay hopeful. But if you do nothing else, stay live,” Maxwell shared.
He echoed the tagline of positivity Mitchell used to sign off every one of his “Kiss of Lyfe” shows: “Always remember, don’t ever let anybody steal your joy.”
This week RADIOLEX will also honor his life by airing his previous shows over the air on Friday, Sept. 20.
Beginning Sept. 25, his work from photos, videos, plays, and more will be on display at the Lyric Theatre for one to two weeks.