Ruth Mitchell (seated) celebrated her 100th birthday at home in Palmyra on Nov. 2. With her were three of her four children, Nancy (left to right), Jeffery and Sally Mitchell Heller.
Ruth Mounts of Kings Mill, Ohio, was a student at Dayton’s Good Samaritan Hospital Nursing School in 1942 – some 36 miles north of home.
That same year, Marine Vetal Mitchell of the Parry section of Cinnaminson was a flight engineer in the South Pacific during World War II when his unit was temporarily grounded at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, just east of Dayton.
To their good fortune, Mounts and Mitchell met at a USO canteen dance and got to know each other. Sparks flew and a lifetime romance began.
“He was a cutie,” recalled Ruth, who celebrated her 100th birthday with family and neighbors at her longtime Palmyra home on Nov. 6. “This feels wonderful. I’m happy to see all of them. It’s a surprise.”
Vetal returned home from the war in 1945 and the couple got hitched. Together, they enjoyed 72 years of marriage before Vetal passed away in 2017 at the age of 97. The newlyweds had moved back to Cinnaminson and then purchased property on Palmyra’s West Spring Garden Street, where they built their own house and raised four children, including the late Tom Mitchell.
Ruth served as a crossing guard for many years at the intersection of Spring Garden Street and the “dangerous” Cinnaminson Avenue, making sure students safely made their way to the former Spring Garden Street School. Those students included her own children. The school closed in 1977 and is now on the National Register of Historical places.
The three siblings who organized Ruth’s birthday party and welcomed guests are Nancy Mitchell, Sally Mitchell Heller and Jeffery Mitchell. Their mother was thrilled to see three of her five grandchildren, Rebecca and Logan Mitchell of Santa Cruz, California, and Timothy Cole.
“It’s so nice to see everybody here to celebrate,” noted Rebecca, who tries to visit her grandmother at least once a year.
“I’m honored to be here; it feels amazing,” added Logan.
Ruth’s other two grandchildren are John Ferrillo and Pacia Eitel, and she has four great-grandchildren. Also at the party were neighbors on leafy West Spring Garden Street: Courtney Miller; Francisco Ortiz; Rafi Ortiz; and RJ Ragomo and his wife, Lisa, whom Ruth has known since the day she was born.
“Only Mrs. Mitchell has lived on this block longer than Lisa, who has been on this block her entire life,” RJ Ragomo noted of his street. “Mrs. Mitchell is always asking for Lisa, so we go over once a month to keep her company. She really appreciates the visit and it means a lot to her, and us, too.”
Nancy Mitchell and RJ both praised Ruth’s daily caregiver, Awilda, who helped set up the party. A highlight of the celebration was the reading of a proclamation from Palmyra Mayor Gina Ragomo Tait that noted Ruth’s long marriage, her four children and her work as a crossing guard.
The document also acknowledged Ruth’s love of ice cream on her porch, “when the weather is nice,” and ended with a recognition of her long life and life-long commitment to family, friends and the community.
“Therefore,” Tait read, “be it resolved, as we gather here today in celebration of 100 wonderful years of life, I do hereby wish Mrs. Ruth Mitchell a Happy 100th birthday and wishes for many more.”
Ruth Mitchell (seated) thoroughly enjoys her 100th birthday at home in Palmyra with her grandchildren Tim Cole (left to right), Logan Mitchell and Rebecca Mitchell.
Ruth Mitchell (seated) thoroughly enjoys her 100th birthday at home in Palmyra with her neighbors Lisa Ragomo, RJ Ragomo, Courtney Miller, Rafi Ortiz and Francisco Ortiz.
