Ruth F. Mitchell, 85, of Mitchell, died Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2016, at Firesteel Healthcare Center in Mitchell.
Funeral services were Monday, Dec. 19, at 7 p.m., at the Bittner Funeral Chapel in Mitchell. Visitation was from 5-7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 19, also at the Chapel. Burial will be at a later date in the Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Artesian.
Ruth Frances (Fiala) Mitchell was born in Burke on March 5, 1931. She grew up in Gregory County and attended Hornbeck School until the fourth grade. She moved with her family to a farm near Herrick and attended St. Charles Public School, graduating in 1947. She enrolled in Southern State Teacher’s College in Springfield, where she received her State Certificate degree. She taught in Colton, Kimball, Rawlins, Wyo., country schools in Sanborn and Miner counties, and spent the last 28 and one half years of her teaching career teaching seventh and eighth grades in Artesian. In 1969, she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in education from Dakota Wesleyan University.
On June 14, 1953, Ruth married Ralph C. Mitchell, and they resided on their farm south of Artesian until 1994, when they moved to Mitchell. After Ralph’s death in 2000, Ruth moved to Greenridge Apartments and then to Firesteel Healthcare Center in 2010.
Ruth’s pride and joy were her two daughters and grandchildren. She enjoyed visiting with friends, playing Scrabble, Bingo, working crossword puzzles, word games and reading.
She is survived by her two daughters, Dianne (Keane) Raether of St. Bonifacius, Minn., and Donna DeGeest of Dimock; five grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and one sister-in-law, Shirley Fiala of Mount Vernon.
Ruth was preceded in death by her husband, Ralph; four brothers; one sister; and two siblings in infancy.