Mima Marie Vita, 87, of Portsmouth, passed away Wednesday, August 9, 2023, at the SOMC Hospice Center, surrounded by her family. She was born August 27, 1935, in Sciotoville, to the late Norman Lee and Helen Esther Smedley Taylor.
Mima was a devout member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church where she sang in the choir. As a Friends of Greenlawn Cemetery volunteer, she was responsible for digitizing the cemetery records which will be important for all generations to come. A member of the Joseph Spencer Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, she was recently honored with the Excellence in Community Service Award. This prestigious D.A.R. award is one of few given and must be approved on the state level. Mima was also a member of the Portsmouth Garden Club and the Scioto County Genealogy Society.
She graduated from Portsmouth East High School in 1953 and received an associate degree from Ohio University-Portsmouth. She worked as the church secretary for All Saints Episcopal Church, and also at the former Gulker’s Gift Store and for Dr. Bobst, optometrist.
Her husband of 59 years, Orlando “Ollie” Anthony Vita, preceded her in death on November 16, 2014. The couple was married in Portsmouth on July 30, 1955.
Surviving Mima are her sons, Andrew A. (Rhonda) Vita of Cincinnati and Orlando David (Nancy) Vita of Powder Springs, GA; daughters, Julia A. (Michael W.) Green of Cincinnati, and Sarah L. Keeney of Columbus; a brother, Pat (Patsy) Taylor of Winston-Salem, NC; her beloved grandchildren, Colin Keeney, Eric Keeney, Laura (Zach) Alsdorf, Joseph Vita, Lindsay (Brad) Lang, Aaron (Courtney Marcum) Green, Andrew (Andrea) Vita, Kelsey Vita (Reggie Wesselhoeft), Emilie Vita and Grace Keeney; great-grandchildren, Jonathan McDaniel, Anna Alsdorf, Connor Lang, Elliott Lang, Harper Green, Meredith Gunn, Bella Wesselhoeft, Jaiden Wesselhoeft, Warren Keeney and Nolan Beisser; brothers-in-law, Jimmy Zugay and Lawrence Vita; sisters-in-law; Florence Zugay, Vivian Taylor and Virginia Vita; and many nieces, nephews and their families.
Mima was also preceded in death by six siblings, Jerry, Kenneth Joseph, Anthony, Robert and Anne Taylor and Norma Lee Crosby.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 A.M. Tuesday at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Interment will be in Greenlawn Cemetery.
The family will receive friends Monday from 5 to 7 P.M. at the Ralph F. Scott Funeral Home in Portsmouth. A Rosary Service will be held immediately following visiting hours.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to SOMC Hospice, 2201-25th St., Portsmouth, OH 45662.
