Ione Sell Hiestand

Ione Sell Hiestand, age 78, formerly of Eaton, died Friday, August 3, 2012 at Hospice of Dayton. Born on 8/22/33, in Eldorado, Ohio, Ione was the daughter of the late Harold V. Sell (4/4/11- 6/23/03) and Ruth Leach Sell (7/7/11-4/6/05). Ione graduated from Monroe Central High School in 1951 and then attended Miami University, studying English and Journalism. On her birthday in 1953 she married Allen A. Hiestand, a partnership she herself said “was not long enough.” Their 52-year marriage ended when Allen passed away on 11/5/05. Except for the two years when Allen was in military service, Ione was a lifelong resident of Preble County. In the summer before her senior year in high school she worked at the Register Herald, where her father, Harold Sell, was co-owner. This instilled in Ione a lifelong love of local history and community involvement. She and Allen were both very involved in the Eaton and Preble County community. Ione was one of the founders of the Friends of the Eaton Library, and served as its first Vice-President. In preparation for the razing of the old library on Barron Street, Ione coordinated sorting, categorizing and printing a catalogue of the book auction. Between February 1985 and October, 1990 Ione wrote a monthly column for the Register Herald called “Friends’ Focus,” which promoted the local library and its activities. A self-proclaimed “professional volunteer,” Ione became affiliated with the Preble County Historical Society (PCHS) in 1975. As a member of the Library Committee, she helped establish the PCHS historical reference library within the Preble County District Library system, and continued her membership on that Library Committee for 20 years. She served as Volunteer Gift Registrar for many of the PCHS early years and was chairman of the PCHS Book Publishing Committee (along with Audrey Gilbert and Marian Mitchell) which published The Court House Square, By Old Mill Streams, and later the committee published a revised edition of Covered Bridges of Preble County. In the 1980s she participated in the Ohio Historic Inventory of historic structures of Preble County, conducted by the Ohio Historic Preservation Office. Using information gleaned from that study, she wrote a weekly series of newspaper articles called “Historic Architecture in Preble County” which were published in the Register Herald and the Palladium Item between October 1985 and January 1986. In 1990, Ione and Audrey Gilbert recruited volunteers to compile information for a comprehensive history of Preble County, the first since 1915. The result of their efforts was a 700-page indexed history entitled, Preble County, Ohio, published in the fall of 1992. Ione wrote portions of this local resource and edited all of it. It was one of her most proud accomplishments. Her next book project, working with the PCHS Library Committee, was a compilation of biographical information on Preble County artists and photographers of the 19th century for Oberlin College Library’s Ohio Artists project. Artists in Ohio, 1787-1900 was published in 2000. In 2010 Ione received the Lifetime Award for outstanding service and dedication to the PCHS. Being incredibly civic-minded and a lover and promoter of the arts locally, Ione was also instrumental in helping establish the Cincinnati Symphony Artists Series in Preble County between 1975 and 1987. She was a Member of the Planning, Zoning, and Appeals Board for the City of Eaton for 14 years between 1989 and 2003. In 1999-2000, Ione also served on the City’s Charter Review Commission and in 2004 she served on the City’s Zoning Code Review Committee. In 1993 she was a member of a small committee for the Improvement and Revitalization of Downtown Eaton. The group approached the Eaton Retail and Business Association and asked to become a sub-committee of that organization and then became the Downtown Eaton Historic Preservation Committee which was instrumental in the improvement of the facades of several downtown Eaton buildings. During this period Ione wrote a number of feature stories on historic downtown buildings that were published in the Register Herald. Ione was also a member of the Chamber of Commerce for several years and was named Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year for 1999. She was also active in the Current Events Club, the Lyric Club of Preble County, and was an on-going supporter of the Preble County Art Association since its construction in 1990. Her favorite pastimes were being with family, being a grandmother, reading and gardening, which she always said she inherited from her grandmother, Anna Locke Sell. Ione also enjoyed bird watching, with one of her favorites recently being the hummingbirds that frequented her feeders. She is survived by daughters Michele Hiestand of Eaton and Laura Emrick (Jerry) of Eaton; sister Marilyn Moore (Jack) of Eaton; grandsons Bradley Allen Robinson and Jared Tyler Emrick; niece Lisa (Joe) Swartsell of Eaton; nephews Mike (Toni) Moore of Eaton and Marty (Kerry) Moore of Scottsdale, Az; great nieces Kristina Jackson of Eaton, Kristin (Jon) Pettitt of Eaton, and Amy Moore of Scottsdale, AZ; great nephews Andy Moore of Eaton, Blaine Moore of Dayton, Ohio, Justin (Kellie) Swartsell of Vermillion, Ohio, Stephen and Blake Moore of Scottsdale, AZ; great great nephews Drew Moore of Eaton, Alex and Dylan Jackson of Eaton, Anthony (AJ) Pettitt of Eaton; great great nieces Kylie Moore, Emma Pettitt, and Josie Jackson, all of Eaton. A Memorial Service will be held Wednesday, August 8, 2012 at 4:00 PM at the First Presbyterian Church located at 123 Decatur Street in Eaton. The family will receive friends on Wednesday, August 8, 2012 from 2:00 – 4:00 PM at the church. Reverend Wayne Morrison and Rev. L. Jack Moore officiating. Memorial contributions may be made to one’s favorite charity. Condolences may be sent to the family via the Girton Schmidt Boucher Gard website.