Sylvena S Mitri was born 12-4-1921 on farm home near Viola, Wisconsin the eighth child of 12 children of George and Nellie (McCauley) Spangler. She attended the rural elementary Eckleberry School then graduated from RCHS in 1940. The year following she attended the U of W Madison prior to interning at the Mayo Clinic Kohler Hospital School of Nursing in Rochester, Minnesota graduating class of 1944.

She then moved to Chicago, IL and worked as Staff Nurse at Wesley Memorial Hospital during and after the World War II. During that time there were many returning solders who needed care and one of which was a younger brother, Fuzz. She was the surgical nurse during three of his operations as a result of injury he sustained overseas. Later she was employed as a Private Surgical/Office Nurse by Dr. Carlo Seuderi. While living in Chicago she met and married Moise H. Mitri in 1957. Relocating to Detroit, MI she was employed at Henry Ford Hospital as Staff Nurse for 2 years, before joining Dr. Frederick J Fischer as Private Surgical and Office Nurse for the next 24 years until his retirement. Then she returned to Henry Ford Hospital continuing in the orthopedic surgery department and the final years in Neuro/Surg. After 50+ years in the Profession she retired in 1996.

She then worked 2000 hours as a volunteer at a local hospital until her husband became ill. She was preceded in death by her husband Moise in 2009, by her parents, brothers Sylvester, Donald, George, Elmer, Arthur, John, Francis (Fuzz), sisters Priscella Fenn, Edna Lane, Norma Mullendore. She is survived by her sister Rosemary Bodin, and many nieces, nephews, and great nieces and great nephews.