Hepler publicly honored with 100th birthday celebration
Submitted photo Gov. Jim Justice’s Regional Representative Lynn Phillips, left, speaks with Ruth Hepler and Elkins Mayor Jerry Marco during a 100th birthday celebration for Hepler at Lavender Fields Retirement and Assisted Living Facility.
Submitted photo Four members of Our Town’s Rosie the Riveter planning committee visited Lavender Field Retirement and Assisted Living Facility for Ruth Hepler’s 100th birthday celebration. Standing by Hepler, from left, are Bobbi Trimboli, Vickie Keller, Betsy Smith and Hilda McWilliams.
Submitted photo Gov. Jim Justice’s Regional Representative Lynn Phillips, left, speaks with Ruth Hepler and Elkins Mayor Jerry Marco during a 100th birthday celebration for Hepler at Lavender Fields Retirement and Assisted Living Facility.
Submitted photo Four members of Our Town’s Rosie the Riveter planning committee visited Lavender Field Retirement and Assisted Living Facility for Ruth Hepler’s 100th birthday celebration. Standing by Hepler, from left, are Bobbi Trimboli, Vickie Keller, Betsy Smith and Hilda McWilliams.
Trending
BEVERLY -- Ruth Hepler was joined by family, friends and community members during a 100th birthday celebration held for her this week at Lavender Field Retirement and Assisted Living Facility.
Gov. Jim Justice's Regional Representative, Lynn Phillips, presented Helper with an award from the Governor's office during the party.
Meanwhile, Elkins Mayor Jerry Marco gave Hepler a Certificate of Achievement and the Mayor's Challenge Coin.
"It was an honor to celebrate with Ruth Hepler and her family during her 100th birthday," Marco told The Inter-Mountain. "I coached her grandkids years ago so she's like family to me. She has been part of my life for many, many years because of my time spent with her grandchildren. I was glad to see so many people come out to wish her well on her birthday."
Representatives from Davis & Elkins College, from which Hepler graduated in 1978, attended the celebration and presented her with a certificate honoring her as an official D&E Centenarian.
Multiple members from the Emma Scott Garden Club and Our Town Inc. also attended the birthday bash with happy greetings.
Hepler was greeted by four members of Our Town's Rosie the Riveter planning committee. Each member dressed in Rosie the Riveter attire for their visit and presented Hepler with a bouquet of roses and a tiara, and shared a framed biography of her life. Our Town will induct 12 new Rosies from Randolph County at a ceremony scheduled for August.
Hepler was born on Feb. 26, 1924, in Collierstown, Virginia. After graduating high school she served as a Rosie the Riveter during World War II, where she made nylon and rayon parachutes at the Dupont Laboratory in Waynesboro, Virginia. While working at the factory and returning home from work one morning, she was introduced to a soldier, Frank Hepler, who she would marry, eventually having five children.
The Heplers lived in Covington, Virginia, for several years, where Frank worked with the Columbia Gas Transmission Company. In 1950 they moved to Elkins when a promotion was offered to Frank.
When her husband passed away in 1973, Hepler was still fairly young and needed to make it on her own. So at age 54, she enrolled at Davis & Elkins College and fulfilled her lifelong wish of becoming a registered nurse.
After graduating from college, Hepler went on to have a long career as a nurse. At the age of 90 she still worked four days a week.
"She's one of our original Rosie the Riveters and we are doing what we can to keep the Rosie memory alive," Marco said this week. "I was honored to give her one of my Challenge Coins for her service when she was a Rosie the Riveter. She has done so much for our community for many years."
The Emma Scott Garden Club, which Hepler is a member of, is in the midst of a fundraising campaign for an 8-foot tall Rosie the Riveter statue that will be placed in the vicinity of the All-Veterans memorial on Railroad Avenue. The names of Rosies across West Virginia will be listed on the base of the statue.