Ruth Marie Mustad, loved by many

Ruth Marie Mustad (née Stjernstedt), 103, of Lewes, passed away peacefully in her sleep Monday, April 11, 2022.  She was born March 14, 1919, in Fredrikstad, Norway, daughter of the late Hartor and Josefine Stjernstedt, a year after the end of World War I. 

One of seven siblings, she was in her early 20s when German troops invaded her country a year into World War II.  Ruth often told stories of waking up one morning to see familiar faces she had seen in Oslo, suddenly appearing in German officer uniforms.  They had snuck in undercover months before marching in the full Army.  Over the next five years of enemy occupation, she carefully relayed important information she gathered in the city to her younger brother who helped lead the Norwegian underground, raising havoc with the invaders.

At the end of the war, Ruth began her own business as a couturier in Oslo where she met her future husband Maurice Mustad.  After their daughter, Ariane, was born, Maurice took a job as an engineer with Hughes Aircraft in Los Angeles.  Ruth and their daughter followed, and Ruth began her 40-year career as a couturier to socially prominent clients of southern California.  She retired in 1991 and moved to Wilmington to be with her daughter’s family, later moving with them to Lewes.

Ruth attributed her long life to taking a walk at least a mile every day.  As a result, she met hundreds of people repeatedly, so many so that her son-in-law complained he became known as “Ruth’s son-in-law,” in place of his own name. Loved by many, she will be deeply and genuinely missed by all who knew her.

Ruth is survived by her daughter, Ariane Sumption and her husband Steve; a granddaughter, Kristina Bell and her husband James; a grandson, Erik Sumption and his wife Malin Dessner; and three great-grandchildren, Luke Bell, Marit Bell and Ebba Dessner-Sumption; a sister, Berit Andersen of Norway; and dozens of relatives living in the U.S. and Norway.

There will be no memorial service.  Final care for Ruth has been entrusted to Parsell Funeral Homes and Crematorium, Lewes.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Ruth’s memory may be made to her hospice provider, VITAS Healthcare, 30265 Commerce Drive, Ste. 202, Millsboro, DE 19966, or Macular Degeneration Research, 22512 Gateway Center Drive, Clarksburg, MD 20871.