Ross Mitchell stepped down from his postion at Laurel Hill in August after four years.
Mitchell is leaving Laurel Hill Cemetery
Ross Mitchell came to Laurel Hill Cemetery four years ago with a goal of turning an otherwise typically dead business into a usable public space where visitors could learn about living history through the deceased who inhabit its grounds.
Now, it will be up to the powers-that-be at the East Falls burial grounds to ensure that Mitchell’s good work will be continued, unaffected by the executive director’s recent departure — from the job, that is.
Mitchell recently left his position with the cemetery to become executive director of the Violette de Mazia Foundation, which is dedicated to teaching art and aesthetics appreciation.
Violette de Mazia was the director of education at the Barnes Foundation for four decades; Mitchell was familiar with de Mazia since he served as gallery director at the Barnes Foundation for seven years before coming to Laurel Hill.
The new job, he said, was one he couldn’t pass up, and one that should be a perfect fit for him, since he comes from an art background.
But it’s that background that also landed him the title of executive director of both Laurel Hill Cemetery and the Friends of Laurel Hill Cemetery, the latter being the volunteer group that helps to raise money for the national historic landmark.
“I have a longstanding love of art,” Mitchell said during a recent phone interview. “And I’ve always had a love of cemeteries.”
The new position of executive director was created specifically for Mitchell, an avid gardener who says his first impression of Laurel Hill was that of a beautiful artistic creation, rather than simply a place where the dead are buried.
“It’s just a wonderful combination of an outdoor sculpture garden, it’s green space, it’s art,” Mitchell said. “It’s a wonderful gem and I wanted to raise its profile in the community.”
Mitchell, who also has a love of history, having served as vice president of the Lower Merion Historical Society, said there were no full-time staff members at Laurel Hill when he started his job, something that changed when he was brought aboard.
“It was starting from scratch with everything,” he said. “It was really a start-up operation.”
The Friends of Laurel Hill Cemetery, a volunteer organization started in 1978, held fund-raisers from time to time, enough to bring some programs to the cemetery, but things really changed under Mitchell’s leadership. The mission of the Friends, and one of the reasons it opted to create and fund an executive-director position, was precisely to bring more public awareness to Laurel Hill, among the few cemeteries in the country to be recognized as a national historic landmark.
“Turning it into a heritage tourism site,” Mitchell said of the Friends’ longstanding goal for Laurel Hill.
One of the big things Mitchell instituted during his tenure was the sort-of revival of the Gravediggers’ Ball, a black-tie event that raises money for youth impacted by violence. As Mitchell tells it, the event did take place years ago, but existed more as a cemetery-owners’ annual meeting than the public spectacle it has become during the past four years. The ball in its previous incarnation took place about 30 or 40 years ago, with nothing between that time period and Mitchell’s hiring.
The event wasn’t a hit from the start — Mitchell said the cemetery actually lost $10,000 putting it on the first year. But as time went by, it became more popular, with Laurel Hill raising $40,000 at last year’s ball.
Another point of pride for Mitchell was expanding the programming at Laurel Hill. Today, the cemetery offers tours, such as those led by David Horowitz, a history teacher at Community College of Philadelphia who has brought his students to the historic space to learn about the city’s past.
Horowitz, who invited the Star on one of his tours a couple weeks back, is one of many Philadelphians for whom the cemetery’s importance is not lost.
Mitchell knows exactly how crucial the cemetery is to both local and national history — a handful of U.S. generals are buried there, as are other dignitaries and important figures — and his pride in the place shines through when he speaks of his time at Laurel Hill.
“I’m very proud of the high profile that Laurel Hill has gotten over the (past) four years,” he said.
There are some things Mitchell regrets not having accomplished, such as his goal to build a $4 million endowment, something he admits is “tough for a cemetery.”
Laurel Hill does receive its share of grant money, but much of it comes from individual donations, not necessarily corporate contributions.
Whoever takes over as executive director of the cemetery, Mitchell simply hopes he or she will continue to ensure Laurel Hill’s place in the local and national spotlight.
“I love that place,” he said. “It was four years of my life where I really put my heart and soul into it, and I really wish them all the best.”
Nevin Mann, president of Laurel Hill Cemetery, said Mitchell will be missed, but the show must go on.
“The new director is just going to take us to a new level,” he said. “Ross got us as far as he could.”
Mann said his company is working on hiring a new executive director, but could not confirm when the position would be filled.
Mitchell’s new job as executive director of the Violette de Mazia Foundation also is a newly created position. The foundation is dedicated to teaching art to various segments of the population, including prison inmates. Mitchell said he expects to be as dedicated to his new job as he was to his previous one.
“This is a dream position for me, coming from an art background,” he said. ••
