Orleta Demuth

Orleta M. Demuth, age 93, of Crumpler, NC, died Tuesday, November 22, 2011 at Forsyth Medical Center in Winston Salem, NC. She was the wife of the late Herbert McCreery Demuth and was also preceded in death by two brothers, James Douglas and Rodney Deaver Swackhamer, and a daughter-in-law, Dianne L. DeMuth. Orleta was born on April 15, 1918 in Crooksville, Ohio to Homer Edward and Juliette Miller Swackhamer. She grew up in Columbus, Ohio where she was valedictorian upon her graduation from Bexley High School and was graduated summa cum laude from Capital University. She and Herbert were married on August 24, 1940 in Columbus where she was an active member of the First Presbyterian Church. Her husband's career as a teacher took them first to South Salem then to Medina, Ohio where they lived for 38 years. She taught American and Advanced Placement European History for 21 years at Medina Junior and Senior High Schools. During this period she was a member and officer of the various educational associations, a member and worker of the Medina United Church of Christ Congregational, and a member and officer of the American Association of University Women, the Y.W.C.A., and the King's Daughters and Sons. She assumed various roles with the Boy and Girl Scouts of America. She served on the Zoning Commission for the township in which she lived. She was several times chosen Teacher of the Year, was a Martha Holden Jennings Scholar and an NDEA Fellow, and was elected to Delta Kappa Gamma, a teachers' honorary society. In 1980 she was chosen by the AAUW as Woman of the Year for Medina County. She served as Chairman of the Social Studies Department for the last 15 years of her career. For all these efforts the Ohio House of Representatives commended Orleta as a truly selfless individual and an outstanding Ohioan. When the Demuths retired in 1980, they moved to Ashe County, NC in the Blue Ridge Mountains where Orleta continued to be active as an Elder in the Mount Jefferson Presbyterian Church and as a member and officer of the Friends of the Library, the AMH Auxiliary, the Ashe County Woman's Club, Kiwanis, Delta Kappa Gamma, a Cancer Support Group, the North Carolina Extension and Community Association, the Peak Creek Ruritan Club, the Red Hat Society, the New River Book Club, the National Defense Education Act (NDEA), and a study group known as the Blue Ridge University. She was a member of the board of trustees for the Ashe Memorial Hospital Foundation, the Ashe County Public Library, and the Appalachian Regional Library. She volunteered for hundreds of hours at the Ashe County Public Library and wore a 5000 hour pin as a volunteer at Ashe Memorial Hospital. For all these efforts the County of Ashe and the State of North Carolina named Orleta a Volunteer of the Year in 1996. She was always an avid reader and an interested world traveler. Surviving her are a son and daughter-in-law, Stephen Herbert and Ilene DeMuth of Newport News, Virginia; a son and daughter-in-law, Robert Lynn and Janice Myers Demuth of Indianapolis, Indiana; a daughter and son-in-law, Phyllis Demuth and Arthur James Movius III of Fairbanks, Alaska; a grandson and wife, Stephen Herbert Demuth, Jr. and Susan Brown of Bowling Green, Ohio; a granddaughter and husband, Christine DeMuth Pilger and Scott Pilger of Williamsburg, Virginia; a grandson, Michael Christopher Demuth of Indianapolis, Indiana; a great grandson, Brandon Wayne Pilger of Williamsburg, Virginia; a great granddaughter, Ashley Dianne Pilger of Williamsburg, Virginia; and many precious friends. A memorial service will be held at a later date. Memorials may be made to Ashe Memorial Hospital Foundation Endowment Fund, 200 Hospital Avenue, Jefferson, NC 28640.