PAR recently lost a cherished member of our staff, Marie Mitchell. Marie was an enormous part of PAR’s success during her 33-year tenure with the company. As our order entry coordinator, Marie worked with many customers and distributors, always with a deep desire to help and a kind and positive attitude. Her loss will be felt deeply. The following are some thoughts from our staff in remembrance of Marie.
To lose someone who has been part of PAR for so long (an amazing 33 years) is like losing a family member. Marie was a constant—quiet, determined, strong, witty, incredibly thoughtful, caring are all words that come to mind. She was a wonderful and foundational part of our company and is greatly missed by so many.
–Kristin Greco, Chief Executive Officer
It is difficult for me to think of PAR without Marie’s presence. It feels like she was always here as part of the Customer Service team, and she was for much of PAR’s existence. When I changed offices and moved to the South Building, I saw Marie more frequently. She would be outside my office making copies or walking by to go out to the Distribution Center. Occasionally we would chat for a few moments and catch up a little. I always enjoyed her laugh. I have very fond memories of Marie and she is greatly missed at PAR.
–Bob Smith, Executive Chairman and Founder
In memory and appreciation of Marie, who worked tirelessly and efficiently processing orders for our customers. She took great pride in taking great care of our customers. We miss you, Marie!
–Cathy Smith, Vice President of Community Relations Emeritus
I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with Marie my entire career at PAR. She was always someone to look up to as she was a great source of knowledge about all things PAR. I asked her so many questions over the years and not once did she show any sign of impatience or frustration. That was Marie, just happy to help and do her part. Usually, she did way more than her part, in fact. She was hard-working and had a can-do attitude. She cared deeply about her family, both her real family and her PAR family. But my favorite thing about Marie was her stealthy sense of humor. She didn’t tell a lot of jokes, but when she landed one, it was always gold. And while she certainly took her job seriously, she loved to laugh. She was as sincere a person as I’ve ever met and I consider myself extremely fortunate to have had her as part of my life every day for the last 23 years. Although she will be missed so much by myself and the CS team, she will never be forgotten. Thank you for everything, Marie.
–Daniel McFadden, Vice President of Customer Support
Marie and I both arrived early each morning to the PAR office, so it was always fun to call out good morning to her each day. Marie had an unparalleled work ethic. She was so loyal and committed to PAR and to her work; it was inspiring. She and her husband Mitch had such a sweet and supportive marriage, and it was always nice to connect with him when he picked Marie up each day. She will be missed.
–Karen Falconer, Vice President of Human Resources
It's hard to imagine my days at PAR without Marie. Aside from being the only member of our Customer Support team that I have had the pleasure of working with for my entire tenure at PAR (more than 30 years), Marie was not only a trusted coworker and friend but also an inspiration to me.
I've never met anyone more dedicated to PAR, our customers, and her teammates more than Marie. Always working our early shift, she was just always there for all of us and our customers. Even during the pandemic and through her health issues, she did everything she could do to be at work. She rarely took days off, and when she did, she is and was always missed because she handled so much—especially our distributors and lots and lots of orders—with speed and efficiency.
Marie was always the picture of calm, patience, and while quiet, she had a wonderful quick wit and sincere honesty, especially when you least expected it. My treasured memories of Marie include saving cookies for her where possible and the smile on her face when she got them, laughing together when customer issues did not quite go as planned, her being completely honest with me when I really needed it and even sometimes when I didn't, and certainly the hard moments when we both needed each other's help to make customer service magic happen—Marie she would accept nothing less. Marie was truly a force and I feel so blessed to have known her. We will miss her very much.
–Tamara Dwoskin, Customer Relationship Manager
Marie always had a smile on her face and would brighten up the room whenever I would see her.
–Katie Garside, InVista Account Executive
Marie has been the foundation of our department the entire time she has worked here. Her bottomless knowledge of our processes and our customers was an inspiration to all of us. Her dry wit would come out of nowhere and make us all laugh at the perfect moments. She always had a smile for you, and you always felt that everything would be alright when Marie was around. We will miss her, but she will certainly live on in our department and in our hearts.
–Teri Lyon, Senior Technical Support Specialist
When I started at PAR 19 years ago, Marie and I literally shared desk space on one side. Her stacks of paper would fall over into my space on a constant basis and we would both laugh about it (she was famous for printing out everything). She was always happy to answer my questions, no matter how small or silly. She was a big help to me when I was in Customer Support and continued to help me after I moved into Administration. I always knew that I could count on her. She always came through. I am going to miss her immensely.
–Vicki McFadden, Senior Permissions Specialist
I was attending my first anniversary luncheon, and I sat next to Marie. I was proud of myself for accomplishing one year, and at that time, she was celebrating 25+ years at PAR. She shared all about what PAR was like when she started and how it had changed. She was a great example of loyalty and commitment.
–Rachel Kennell, InVista Business Solutions Consultant
I just wanted to share the love Marie had for cookies. She was like a child when it came to cookies and would have them for breakfast in a heartbeat. Every year she would take a week off around the holidays to bake cookies.
I love to see the devotion Mitch had for her. He faithfully dropped and picked her up from work every day and prepared her lunch every day.
Marie was that reliable motor in the department that worked so well you took her for granted. At the end of the month, she easily processed 2.5 to 3 times more faxed/emailed orders than anyone else in the department and you were just left asking yourself how she does it. One month she processed more than 900 faxed/emailed orders while the next person processed about 350! It was incredible.
Fun fact… for years she had every PAR-released catalog at her desk. She absolutely loooovved working here (she was in office every day during COVID!). Marie really was a gem and we will miss her dearly.
–Ketsia LeFranc, Product Support Supervisor