Nadine Mitchell, 85, teacher, researcher and civic activist

Nadine Wilson Harris Mitchell, 85, an educator and researcher who worked tirelessly for civic and cultural groups in Philadelphia, died March 14 of natural causes at the home of her son in Blue Bell.

For many years, Mrs. Mitchell took great satisfaction in her volunteer service, said her son, Howard E. Mitchell Jr. She was a trustee or member of the board of directors of many nonprofit organizations and educational institutions, and served on committees raising funds and planning activities.

In the 1960s, she was a trustee of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and, in the 1970s, raised money for the Philadelphia Orchestra. The wide range of organizations in which she was involved included the World Affairs Council, the International Visitors Center, UNICEF, the American Association of University Women, the Old Philadelphia Development Corp., the United Way, the YWCA of Philadelphia, Settlement Music School, Radcliffe College, the Committee of Seventy, and Germantown Academy.

Mrs. Mitchell was born in Washington and graduated from high school there. She received a bachelor's degree in English from Howard University in 1943 and a master's degree in English from Radcliffe in 1945.

In July 1946, she married First Lt. Howard E. Mitchell on his return after World War II. The couple settled in Center City.

Mrs. Mitchell taught English in the 1940s at Howard and later at Haverford College. She was a substitute teacher at Friends Select School while her son was a student there.

From 1971 to 1992, Mrs. Mitchell was a research specialist at the Human Resources Center of the University of Pennsylvania, doing research and writing on women's and minority issues.

After retiring, she worked part-time with her husband running Mitchell & Mitchell Associates Ltd., a consulting firm that schooled companies and government on diversity and gender issues.

Mrs. Mitchell was a member of the Cosmopolitan Club and the Radcliffe Club of Philadelphia.

She accompanied her husband, a professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, on sabbatical to Switzerland and Italy. The couple toured China, and summered on Cape Cod and in Maine.

In addition to her son, Mrs. Mitchell is survived by a daughter-in-law, Wendy B. Mitchell, and three granddaughters. Her husband died in 1999.

A funeral service will be at noon Wednesday at Christ Church, Second and Market Streets. Memorial contributions may be made to the Christ Church Memorial Fund, 20 N. American St., Philadelphia 19106.