Virginia May Hoover Mittag 1919 - 2019

Virginia Hoover Mittag, 99, of Hart, passed away March 5, 2019, at Poppen Hospice Residence in Muskegon, after a long and fulfilling life. She was born December 12, 1919, in Burns Township, Shiawassee County, the daughter of LaVerne D. and Ruth Barnes Hoover, and lived on the farm until age 12 when the family moved to Byron, Michigan.

Virginia graduated valedictorian of her Byron High School class in 1936 and then attended business school in Detroit. To earn money for college, she worked for the president of an upholstery company, which supplied several automotive manufacturers. Virginia attended St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, where she graduated (1945) Summa Cum Laude in Spanish and German.

Feeling called to the mission field, Virginia attended Scarritt College for Christian Workers in Nashville, Tennessee, for a year before embarking on a steamship to Buenos Aires, Argentina, under Lutheran Church Missions. While in Argentina, she met Rudi Mittag, from Oppach, (Saxony) Germany. They were joined in marriage on July 15, 1949. Daughters Erika (1950) and Ruth (1951) were born in Argentina, and son Gerhardt (1952) was born in Michigan as the family returned to live in the US.

As a busy mother of three, Virginia still found time to grow a big garden, an activity she loved her entire life. After living in Byron and Corunna, the family moved to Lowell, Michigan, and then to Hart in 1957, where Rudi became Superintendent of Power for the city. Virginia enjoyed teaching Spanish both to the neighborhood children in the summer and to several regular students. During this time, she was also active in migrant ministry, visiting migrant worker camps with activities for the children and singing with all. She worked as a teacher's aide in the Hart Public Schools before attending the University of Michigan to obtain her teaching certificate. For six years, she taught non-college bound English, managed the high school library, and sponsored both the school newspaper and yearbook.

In 1968, Rudi accepted a position with the US State Department's Voice of American program to run the power plants associated with their radio stations. Virginia and Rudi were first stationed in Monrovia, Liberia, for three years and then went to Kavala, Greece, for an additional eight years. During this time, Virginia worked as a business manager for the American School in Monrovia; and in Greece, she was the one-room school teacher for all the children onsite from kindergarten through eighth grade. When she and Rudi retired in 1989, the community named the school after Virginia. The couple returned to Hart where they were welcomed back into the community.

Virginia was active in the Retired Teachers Association, the Oceana County Historical Society, and worked extensively on her family genealogy to become a member of the Dunes Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Virginia was also an active and faithful member of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Hart. During their sojourns in Africa and Greece, Virginia took the opportunity to travel throughout West Africa as well as visiting St. Petersburg, Russia, and areas of Spain and other European countries. Friends will remember her curiosity about people and the world and her compassion for everyone.

After Rudi died in 1991, Virginia volunteered for Hospice for nearly 20 years and for many years, walked over a mile once a week to the Medical Care facility in Hart where she visited with patients and watered their plants. Always filled with the spirit of adventure, at age 71, Virginia traveled to Israel to work on an archeological dig, uncovering the mosaic flooring of a Byzantine era church.

Virginia is survived by: her children, Erika Mittag (Kerry Pivonka) of Cedar Park, Texas, Ruth (Michael) Reese of Fairfax, Virginia, and Gerhardt Mittag of Hart; her grandchildren, Megan Reese (Tyler) Long and Amelia (Andre) Hebert; and her great-grandchildren, Reese Long, Andre Hebert, Charlotte Hebert, and Jacklyn Hebert; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

Virginia was preceded in death by: her husband, Rudi Mittag; her parents; her sister, Mildred Hoover Root; and her brother, Charles "Jack" Hoover.

A memorial service to celebrate her life will be held at 1 PM, Tuesday, March 12, 2019, at Our Savior Lutheran Church, 2087 N Water Rd, Hart. The family will receive friends from 5-7 PM, Thursday, March 14, 2019, at Beacon Cremation & Funeral Service, King-Hart Chapel, 2370 N. 72 ^nd Ave, Hart.

Memorial contributions may be made to Our Savior Lutheran Church, 2087 N. Water Rd, Hart, MI 49420 or Harbor Hospice Foundation, 1050 W. Western Avenue, Suite 400, Muskegon, Michigan 49441.

Beacon Cremation & Funeral Service, King-Hart Chapel, is in charge of the arrangements.

www.beaconfh.com