Ethelyn VonHelmers Fitzsimmons was hired as a temporary employee of Ƶ on July 2, 1951, and worked as a secretary in the Office of the President. She was hired full time on May 14, 1953. Before leaving Ƶ State on Dec. 1, 1971, she had worked for three university presidents: George Bowman, Robert White and Glenn Olds.
Fitzsimmons recently celebrated her 110th birthday and graciously welcomed Ƶ State Today to her home for an interview about her 19-and-a-half years working at Ƶ State.
Worldwide, there are 203 people verified to be 110 years old or older. People who are 110 years of age or older are called supercentenarians.
Inside The President’s Office
She worked with Bowman, Ƶ State’s longest-serving president (1944-1963) first, and of the three presidents she worked for, he was her favorite.
“All three men were very honorable, good men, but I liked Bowman best,” Fitzsimmons said. “He was a very formal man. There was no joking around.”
“The president’s office was a pretty somber office. It was all business,” she said. “We did our jobs and went home.” Fitzsimmons prides herself on “trying to do a good job efficiently” while she worked there.
As for President White, she said, “he was a fine man, but wasn’t as firm as Bowman was.” Fitzsimmons recalled that when the news media would surround Bowman after he had parked his car “he would get out of his Buick, and stride toward the building, not looking left or right and the news media would rush up to him, asking ridiculous questions and he would turn around and say, ‘No comment,’” she said. “He handled it properly.”
Glenn Olds became the university’s president in 1971, which was Fitzsimmons’ final year at Ƶ State, so she didn’t have time to get to know him very well.
When Fitzsimmons was hired, the Office of the President was in the Administration Building (now Cartwright Hall), where it remained until 1971, when the offices were moved to the newly completed, 12-story University Library.
A Friendship That Has Lasted More Than 63 Years
One of Fitzsimmons’ responsibilities in the president’s office was reading the scholarship application letters submitted by the students. In her memory, one scholarship student stands out: Thomas Sicuro, whom she has known since his freshman year at Ƶ State.
“Of all the scholarship students that I handled, he was the most impressive and still is the most impressive man,” she said.
Sicuro, who graduated from Ƶ State with honors in 1963, became an attorney and is still practicing law in Ravenna. Fitzsimmons said, “I’ve known him for years. He is still one of my examples of a good person.”
“If I had any questions about things now, I would go to him because he’s a very sensible man,” she said. “Whatever he would tell me to do, I would do it. He’s wise.”
They have a strong friendship, and he visits Fitzsimmons at her home. When he was a student, Fitzsimmons said, “I had to warn him once about his grades. He had joined a fraternity. All I had to do was warn him. I still consider him my best friend.”
In a social media post, the Mantua Historical Society invited people to send Fitzsimmons cards and letters for her 110th birthday on May 17. Fitzsimmons’ caregiver said that while many of the people who wrote included stories of how they knew Fitzsimmons or how they met, Fitzsimmons remembered everyone she knew, just by hearing their name and where they lived.
Fun Memories and Observations From a Long View
One of Fitzsimmons’ favorite memories from her time at Ƶ State was when the university assisted her and six faculty members in getting their driver’s licenses. “I took the test with six faculty boys. I was the only one who passed,” she said. “Yes, I was always proud of that.”
After Ƶ State, Fitzsimmons “worked a short time in the health department, which I didn’t like and I quit within two weeks,” she said. “After that, I went home.”
One of her earliest memories is being with her parents watching soldiers in a parade. Those soldiers were going to serve in World War I. “I’ve been through a lot,” Fitzsimmons said. “Two, three, who knows how many wars? War accomplishes nothing. You can tell I’m a pacifist. I don’t like trouble of any kind. I believe in living peacefully and quietly.”
For advice, she offered, “Be tolerant in any circumstance.” She also shared a daily habit that has helped her enjoy her long life. “I’ve always done something, no matter how busy I was. I would take time out every day to do something I like to do. I like to write music. I like to write poetry. I took time to do it.”
“So, I enjoyed life. I didn’t work, work, work.”