Kathy Smith with Mildred DeBell, 2017 Citizen of the Year. Photo by Bonnie Hobbs.
Mildred DeBell is a living, Centreville institution. She came here in 1938 to teach first grade in the old, wooden, Centreville Elementary and, through the years, she and her family became an indelible part of Fairfax County’s history.
Now 99, DeBell’s accomplishments are many, including being the unofficial historian of Centreville. And last Saturday, Oct. 21, she was honored as the Centreville Day 2017 Citizen of the Year and Honored Community Historian.
“I think it’s wonderful,” she said after the ceremony. “I guess I’m the oldest person in Centreville. This honor is very special.”
She was married to Stuart DeBell who, beginning in 1952, served 16 years on the county's Board of Supervisors. The couple had three children, John, Stephen and Stuart. The family now includes nine grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
In 1950, Mildred was a founding member of the Rocky Run Garden Club, along with Ellanor C. Lawrence, in whose name the Chantilly park was preserved. She also served in leadership positions in many civic organizations. And in 2003, then Supervisor Michael Frey named her Sully District’s honorary Lady Fairfax.
Current Supervisor Kathy Smith (D-Sully) presented DeBell with a certificate during Saturday’s Centreville Day opening ceremonies. “Mildred has been a vital part of our community for nearly 80 years,” said Smith. “Mildred has been the ‘First Lady’ of Centreville, ‘Lady Fairfax,’ a St. John’s [Episcopal Church] ‘Saint’ and an honorary member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and Alpha Delta Kappa.”
“But today, the Centreville Day Planning Committee is especially recognizing her contributions to preserving Centreville history,” continued Smith. “When Mildred married into the DeBell family, she took on the role of curator of a large collection of historical records and artifacts tucked away in the DeBell farmhouse, going back as far as 1826.
“Beginning with the first Centreville Day in 1992, Mildred shared that collection with the public by displaying a selection of it on Centreville Day. [That] display became a Centreville Day staple that Mildred personally organized until well into her 90s. Mildred has always been an educator and a sheer force of nature … and Centreville is all the richer for it.”
Her son and daughter-in-law, John and Connie DeBell, and great-granddaughter Madeline Latkanich were there Saturday for the award ceremony. “I’m so fortunate to be a part of her life and celebrate this day with her,” said Latkanich.
“It’s a great honor because she’s contributed so much to Centreville and cares so much about it,” said John DeBell. “She can’t get around as easily as she used to, so she’s not as visible in the community anymore. So it was nice to see her up on that stage today.”
The Centreville Day stage was in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church, where Mildred DeBell has been a member since 1938. “She was part of the group that reopened St. John’s in the late 1950s, after it had been closed for about 15 years,” said her son. “She sang in the choir and played the organ there.”
“She always got the job done, no matter what, and still continues to do that today,” added Connie DeBell. “She’s always been a force of nature and she’s still the matriarch of our family.”