Ola Ruth Hitt

AIKEN, SC- Miss Ola Ruth Hitt, a long time Aiken fixture and philanthropist, entered into rest peacefully at age 103, Friday, May 10, 2013 in Aiken, SC, the town in which she loved so much. Funeral Services will be held 2 PM Monday, May 13, 2013 in Aiken’s First Baptist Church with the Reverend Doctor Fred W. Andrea, III officiating. Interment will follow in Historic Bethany Cemetery. Honorary Pallbearers will be members of the local chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The family will receive friends from 12:30 until 1:45 in the church parlor prior to the service. “Miss Ola,” as she was affectionately known, was one of Aiken’s most recognizable individuals. Born in Martinez, GA in 1910 to the late John Martin Hitt and Abbie Shuler Hitt, she was a life long resident of Aiken. A woman of great energy, who was deeply passionate about her community, she was a past president of the Aiken Historical Society, a member of the Business Women’s Club, the Society of Mayflower Descendents, Colonial Dames of the 17th Century, Continental Sisters of Indians, the Daughters of the American Revolution, Daughters of 1812, United Daughters of the Confederacy, First Families of Massachusetts and the Genealogical Soceity. Miss Ola derived much of her strength from her faith in Jesus Christ and was a dedicated member of Aiken’s First Baptist Church for nearly a century. Known to many Aikenites as the “Mother of Veterans,” she opened her home on Chesterfield Street to disabled veterans for more than three decades. She served as the Grand Marshall of the City of Aiken’s Memorial Day Parades for many years. A very humble and modest person, Hitt’s actions did not go unrecognized- she received the Order of the Palmetto in 1990 which was presented by her long time friends, the late US Senator Strom Thurmond and Aiken Mayor, the late H. Odell Weeks. The late SC Governor Carroll Campbell also proclaimed the day, “Ola Hitt Day.” The plaudits she received were many from having Ola Hitt Lane on Whiskey Road named in her honor, to having a statement recognizing her 100th birthday, acknowledging her contributions to the community, read into the Congressional Record by U.S. Rep. J. Gresham Barrett. She is survived by her nieces, Idys Overton, Carrollton, GA, Melanie Williams-Santiago, Florida, and Ann Arnau, Miami, FL; nephews, Buck Fulmer, Jr., Columbia, SC and Wayne Hitt, Morganton, NC and a number of great nieces, nephews and great-great nieces and nephews, friends, church family and caregivers, Lillian Bazemore, Mattie Simmons and the loving staff of Trinity on Laurens and BeWell Home Services. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by three sisters, Frances Hitt Fulmer, Algie Hitt Neal and Margaret Hitt; a brother, Wayne Hitt; a niece, Joy N. Williams and a nephew, James Neal. Memorial contributions, in lieu of floral arrangements, may be directed to First Baptist Church, PO Box 3157, Aiken, SC 29802 Miss Ola’s influence and impact on others resonates loudly throughout the CSRA, as it was through her spirit of altruism and unwavering commitment to help others in which her memory will be forever held with the most venerable esteem. Miss Hitt’s online registry may be signed at www.shellhousefuneralhome.com SHELLHOUSE FUNERAL HOME, INC., 924 HAYNE AVE., AIKEN, SC To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Ola Ruth Hitt, please visit our flower store.