Bastyr founder was talented guitar player

Bob Nelson sat in a kitchen befitting a folksinger. With a houseplant’s trailing fronds as a backdrop, he strummed his old Martin guitar. Still in good voice at 69, he sang the words of “The Little Land.”

“I like the old traditional ballads,” he said. “The ones that tell a story.”

At his home in Everett on Monday, he told a story of his own. Nelson had called The Herald after reading of the death of Dr. William Mitchell Jr.

A naturopathic physician and co-founder of Bastyr University, Mitchell died of a heart attack Jan. 23 in Seattle. He was 59.

According to the Associated Press and the Kenmore-based naturopathic school, Mitchell died only hours after the same type of heart ailment, myocardial infarction, killed his 27-year-old son, Noah Mitchell.

William Mitchell was renowned in the world of natural medicine, and wrote several books on the topic. In his Everett kitchen, Nelson spoke of another aspect of the man who helped create the country’s first accredited naturopathic school.

“He was an incredible guitar teacher. I took private guitar lessons from him. He was just incredible,” Nelson said.

In the mid-1970s, Nelson, Mitchell and several other musicians ran a folk guitar program at Everett Community College. Their evening classes attracted guitarists of all ages. “Bill Mitchell probably taught hundreds of students here,” Nelson said.

A Bastyr University news release said “Mitchell was an extraordinarily gifted guitarist who was on the cover of Time magazine at age 16 in his capacity as the private tutor for the owner of a leading guitar company.”

According to Bastyr, Mitchell’s guitar teaching helped support his young family and paid tuition at the Natural College of Naturopathic Medicine, then based in Seattle.

Nelson, now a deck builder, said the EvCC guitar program evolved from “a huge music scene in Bellingham and a huge music scene in Seattle.”

“We were in the middle,” Nelson said. Everett’s fledgling folk scene drew top instructors from Seattle and Bellingham, including Mitchell.

“There was a vibrancy in the ’70s. The college was where it was happening,” Nelson said. Black-and-white pictures in his photo album take him back. From 1974 until 1978 or ‘79, EvCC hosted annual folk festivals that spanned several days.

Julie Sakahara and Joe Vinikow, who now teach through their Seattle business Guitar for Grownups, were among the cadre of instructors at EvCC back then.

“It was a very wonderful time,” said Sakahara. “Back then there was interest in American traditional arts of all kinds, music and crafts. It was back to the land. If you played a musical instrument, people were really happy to have you play. People supported musicians.”

“We worked individually on contract,” said Vinikow, who recalled sessions at EvCC packed with people from all walks of life. “There were sometimes 40 people in a class. I remember guys who were mill hands, some of whom may not have had all their fingers.”

While Nelson called himself “a traditionalist and a balladeer,” he said Mitchell’s focus was jazz.

“He was really my first serious experience with jazz. He was extremely focused when he picked up a guitar,” Nelson said. “Bill was the most unassuming guy. He was very modest.”

The Everett man hadn’t been in touch with Mitchell in years, but knew of his professional achievements. Mitchell, along with Dr. Joseph Pizzorno, Dr. Lester Griffith and Sheila Quinn, founded Bastyr in 1978.

Nelson was also aware of a tragedy Mitchell was involved in several years ago. In 2004, Mitchell was charged with vehicular homicide after his car struck 44-year-old Thien Nguyen as she crossed a street at night in Shoreline.

Prosecutors said the doctor had a blood alcohol level of .08, the legal threshold for intoxication. But a King County Superior Court judge declared a mistrial after the jury became deadlocked, according to the Associated Press.

After the accident, “I struggled about whether to call him,” Nelson said. “Years ago, he and I were very close.”

Pizzorno said he knew little of his friend’s life as a guitar teacher in Everett. He wasn’t surprised that Mitchell was as successful in the arts as he was in healing.

“Bill had a remarkable way of helping people feel better about themselves. Patients loved him. Students loved him,” Pizzorno said. “He had a warmth and sincerity that came through to all who knew him.”

In his warm kitchen, Nelson’s thoughts took him back though the years. He still plays music, but it’s not the same world.

“Those were gentle times,” he said.

Columnist Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460 or muhlsteinjulie@heraldnet.com.