Always remembered

Troilo is a familiar name to anyone that has lived in the Culpeper area. For years, the family has done everything from tuning up the minivan to keeping the county entertained with the annual Soap Box Derby.

The Troilos’ impact on this area is well documented, but Ruth “Bootsie” Troilo — who died Monday at the age of 86 — may have worn more hats and touched more lives than any member of the prominent family.

“To me, she will always be mom,” Ruth’s son Tony Troilo said. “But she was also a seamstress, homemaker, caretaker, painter and a cook.”

In 1928, Ruth and her family moved to Brandy Station from their home in Richmond to establish Rosson’s Gas Station and Ice House, which became Rosson-Troilo Motor Company in 1945.

Ruth was involved in the family business from a young age, but when her father died during World War II she and her mother were given the daunting task of running the business. While many may have strayed away from such a difficult situation, Ruth — to no one’s surprise — tackled the chore without hesitation and excelled.

“Hers was a determined generation,” Tony said. “She did whatever needed to be done, and she did it with enthusiasm.”

Before development came to the area, there weren’t very many places one could stop and enjoy anything but nature between Warrenton and Charlottesville, according to Tony. That all changed when the Rosson-Troilo Grill opened in 1947 with Ruth at the helm.

“Mom was hardest worker and the best Italian cook I’ve ever met, and she wasn’t even Italian,” Ruth’s daughter Pat Gravely said. “People in those days just had more stamina.”

Ruth’s friendly nature lured a constant stream of local customers to the eatery. Her amicable demeanor also attracted celebrities like country music singer Eddie Arnold and William Tuck — who served as governor of Virginia from 1946 to 1950.

“She was such a loving lady that touched so many lives,” Ruth’s daughter Frankie Gilmore said. “She never met a stranger. She could talk to anyone and they would feel like they had known her forever.”

Even though Ruth devoted much of her time to the family business, she never missed an opportunity to lend her community a helping hand.

“She was part of this community,” Gilmore said. “So she was going to do all she could to make it better.”

When Ruth’s husband Joe started the Brandy Station Bears baseball team in 1960, she put her skills as a seamstress to use by making uniforms for the entire team because many of the players couldn’t afford to buy them.

With so much on her plate, it’s hard to believe that Ruth had very much spare time. But when she could, she loved to escape to the rolling fairways and the crisp green sanctuaries that only a golf course can offer.

“She loved to play,” Tony said. “She loved the friendships and the bonds she made through golf, and she always welcomed anyone that wanted to play.”

Tony said Ruth’s enthusiasm was especially apparent after one of her many holes-in-one.

He fondly remembers his mother frantically calling home after making her first hole-in-one at the Culpeper County Club and the ensuing party the family threw to celebrate her accomplishment.

“She was enthusiastic about everything she did,” Tony said. “Whether it was playing golf or playing cards with her grandchildren.”

Even though much of her time was dedicated to the family business and her beloved community, Ruth’s children say she always found a way to make family her top priority.

“Family was what gave her strength,” Gilmore said.

“She never lost sight of how important family was,” Tony said. “She and dad raised us with three main principles: God, family and country.”

With a life that seems to have been devoted to the betterment of her family and community, it’s no wonder that Tony referred to Ruth as “the pillar of Brandy Station.”

Ron Counts can be reached at 824-0771 ext. 166 or .