Veda Margaret Travis was born on April 14, 1954, in Knoxville, Tennessee, to Jack Travis, a police officer, and Evelyn, a nurse. She spent her childhood between Tennessee and Arkansas before her family settled in St. Louis, Missouri, when her mother married Saul Klein. The city remained central to her identity. She cheered fiercely for the Cardinals and the Blues, and treasured its beloved institutions, especially the Zoo and the Art Museum.
Veda began college at Washington University in St. Louis, but a summer working in Yellowstone National Park changed the course of her life. She was drawn to the scale and beauty of the American West and chose to stay. She graduated from Utah State University in Logan, before making Salt Lake City home for the rest of her life.
She entered law enforcement as the first female police officer in Logan and later served with the Salt Lake City Police Department. She valued the work, but concluded she could be more effective through the law. She attended the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah, graduating in 1992, and clerked for federal Judge Dee Benson before joining the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah in 1999.
Over the next two decades, Veda built a reputation as a disciplined and formidable Assistant United States Attorney. She worked in both the Narcotics and Violent Crime Sections and served as Robbery Coordinator and OCDETF Coordinator. Her cases included Hobbs Act and bank robbery, carjacking, firearms offenses, narcotics trafficking, gang prosecutions, and complex racketeering matters. She tried numerous significant cases, including major gang and RICO prosecutions, and handled multiple wiretap investigations. She was widely regarded as an expert in Fourth Amendment search and seizure law.
In the courtroom, she was known for preparation, precision, and judgment. She did not overreach. She took on difficult cases and saw them through. She also taught trial advocacy to federal prosecutors at the National Advocacy Center and mentored many younger attorneys, who credit her with sharpening their thinking and strengthening their work. She retired in 2020, leaving a lasting mark on the office and the Utah legal community.
In 2019, she married William “Trip” Mitchell, her greatest love, after a courtship that spanned decades. Together they filled their days with laughter, travel, good food, and the company of those closest to them.
Veda showed her love through action, organizing gatherings, planning trips, and staying closely connected to those in her orbit. She was unfailingly protective and uncommonly strong, the kind of person who stood firmly beside family and friends through every triumph and hardship and made others feel safe simply by being near her.
She moved through the world with endless curiosity, discovering new places and cultures while returning again and again to favorite destinations with the people who brought her joy. She had a sharp eye for beauty and life’s finer things, whether it was art, fashion, or a perfectly prepared meal, yet nothing mattered more than the people she loved. She was the heart behind family reunions, the architect of beach vacations, and the beloved aunt and godmother who made every gathering brighter, louder, and more joyful.
She is survived by her husband, William “Trip” Mitchell; her father, Saul Klein; her siblings, Sarah Klein (David Wedaman) and Sam Klein (Aleta); her five nieces and nephews, Grace, Elias, and Simonne Klein, and Isaac and Leah Wedaman; and her goddaughters Anjuli Lineback and Chani Archuleta, and godson Asher Archuleta. She was predeceased by her mother, Evelyn Hickerson Klein.
A service will be held at Bopp Chapel, in Kirkwood, Missouri on Saturday, May 30, at 11:00 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the National Pancreatic Cancer Foundation or to a cause supporting education, public service, or the arts in honor of Veda’s lifelong passions.
