Ruth Mitchel

Posted

Mrs. Ruth Mitchell passed away at her home in Johnston on Saturday, June 15, 2019. She was married for 47 years to the late Frank Mitchell Jr. She was 88 years old.

Born on Staten Island, New York, a daughter of the late John and Ruth Rossi, she was the sister of the late Jessie (and Priscilla) Mason, Alfred Rossi and Joanne (and Bob) Thompson.

A devoted wife and mother, she preserved the fruits and vegetables grown on the family farm and enjoyed baking and trying out new recipes. She was a seamstress in New York before her marriage and sewed many of her children’s clothes as they grew up. She was also a talented knitter, and she filled her home with braided rugs she’d made herself, as well as an impressive collection of squirrel figurines. An avid gardener, she spent hours outside, creating beautiful flower gardens out of the wilderness at her little home on the pond, where she enjoyed watching the wildlife come and go.

Mrs. Mitchell was an intelligent woman with a quick wit, and she was active in her children’s schooling, even serving as PTA president for a time. In her later years she volunteered in her daughter’s second grade classroom, reciting poems she’d memorized for her own children and knitting slippers for all the boys and girls at Christmas. She was a voracious reader all her life and enjoyed writing letters to her many friends around the country and all over the world. She was a great Scrabble player and loved playing Words with Friends online.

Mrs. Mitchell leaves behind her five children, Deborah, Patricia, Anne, Rebecca (and Ricky) and Stephen (and Jennifer); eight grandchildren, Jared (and Allison), Victoria, Stephen, Bryan, Olivia, Gabriel, Fiona and Iain; and three great-grandchildren, Ethan, Grace and Jacob, as well as her brother John, her friend Kathy, many nieces and nephews, and friends and correspondents all over the world. She was well and truly loved.

Funeral services will be private.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Lifespan Cancer Institute in her memory, at PO Box H, Providence, RI 02903.