The respected teacher passed away on April 30 this year after a battle with illness

.He was 72-years-of-age and is survived by his beloved wife Nancy.

He dedicated his entire life to the students in the local community.

His entire career was spent teaching at Milton Central School and then at Ulladulla High School (UHS).

Teaching his students to the highest standard was his top priority.

He spent countless hours researching, preparing, practising and revising every resource he could to ensure his students got the best lessons possible.

Thanks to him his students developed a deep appreciation for the subjects he taught them.

The respected educator was a true teacher who never stopped from his first to his last breath.

He will be sorely missed by everyone who had the pleasure of meeting him.

His former colleagues Bob Larson, Ivan Johnson and Bill McInnes, who taught with Mr Mitchell at Milton Central and UHS, reflected on what can only be described as a great career.

"Graham joined us in 1972 (Milton Central School), it was his first teaching position," his friends reflected.

"He joined our staff of 28 (primary and secondary) teachers and a science staff of one and a half teachers (Ivan taught science and agriculture).

"We all bonded immediately."Graham was friendly and a team player. He had a love for children and a desire to share his subject knowledge.

"His favourite science subject at that time was geology, but sadly that is a subject that has never been taught on its own in our school, so he became our chemistry teacher.

"Even though Graham struggled with asthma he was always positive and put a great deal of effort into his work."

His friends wrote about how their friend loved being on the stage.

"He was in a number of the school plays. He loved music, playing his 12 string guitar, and singing," his friends recalled.

"In the early years, there were always students at his classroom door with their guitars waiting for instruction.

"Perhaps being in front of a class was a bit like being on the stage. His dress sense might lead you to believe this - he always wore a bow tie every day."

Graham had many interests, photography was one of them.

"He took the staff photos at Milton Central school," his friends recalled.

"He also set up a darkroom at Ulladulla high for the students to learn to print their own black and white photos.

"It was a good darkroom except on warm days when smells of chicken manure from the shared room (part of the Ag. department) would waffle in."

Sport was another of his interests.

"Another of Graham's interests early on was the game of squash, and when he played he liked to win and often did," his friends remembered.

"Even newcomers were shown no mercy." his friends said.

The type of person he was is something everyone who met the respected educator remembered.

"Graham was a good person, trustworthy, helpful and generous and his friendship went well beyond school, we will miss him very much," his friends said.

"We were all happy when his wife Nancy came into Graham's life, sharing with friends and students is very rewarding, but having that special person to travel the life journey with makes life so much better - Graham and Nancy made a great team."

He retired from UHS in 2007 but continued to make a positive impact on the chemistry students' education by providing free tutoring to every year 12 chemistry student on a weekly basis on Tuesday afternoons at the school ever since.

He always had a passion for teaching and students were very glad for his help.

He would spend hours trawling his resources to prepare work booklets and sample questions complete with worked answers he provided to students so they had more than plenty of experience with all forms of chemistry assessment items.

Graham also tutored numerous students from other schools over the years continuing to share his knowledge in chemistry with many more students.

Current UHS principal, Denise Lofts, had a lot of respect for Mr Mitchell.

"Graham Mitchell, a brilliant scientist, a keen computer enthusiast, and an incredibly passionate long-standing teacher at UHS from its beginning years, having been part of the school for more than 30 years. He will be missed," Mrs Lofts said.

"We knew Graham as 'Mitch', who taught a generation of chemistry students, and who built in all his students a passion for science.

"Mitch's classes, always full of inspiring approaches to understanding the complexities of science and the innovative ways to understand the vastness of our world through the lens of science."

"His commitment to young people continued beyond his retirement, being one of UHS's most dedicated 'tutors' spending many afternoons with year 12 chemistry students assisting them to prepare for their HSC.

"His contribution has been an integral part of this vital study program for the last 10 years, having guided countless minds to understand the nuance of the chemical world."

She will miss him a great deal.

"We will miss his dedication, kindness and energy to learning and his passion to create understanding and knowledge in his students," Mrs Lofts said.

"He has left a legacy and we will always remember him with great fondness as one of our UHS greats."

Rest in peace Mr Graham Mitchell - you will be missed, but you won't be forgotten.