Queen Elizabeth II will truly be missed, local resident says

Local resident Danielle Rasmus said she will truly miss Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's longest-reigning monarch and a rock of stability across much of a turbulent century, who died earlier this week at age 96.

Rasmus, who moved to Richland County about a year and half ago, said Friday she was "distraught" over the queen's death.

"She is the only queen I ever knew, sad that my children won't learn about the queen while she is alive. (And) there will now be a king," she said.

Rasmus, who works as a preschool paraprofessional at Butler Elementary School, said she was born in England and lived there for 27 years.

"I have visited London many times and have seen her flag up, so we knew she was home, but never met her face to face," she said.

The Royal Standard, representing the Sovereign and the United Kingdom, was flown when the Queen was in residence in one of the Royal Palaces.

"She has served my country well and she will truly be missed. And we won't have a queen for a very long time," Rasmus said.

Rasmus said most Americans don't realize how important Queen Elizabeth was to England.

"I was a young widow and met another widow on a widow Facebook site and the rest is history," she said, of leaving her homeland to come to the United States.

People from nations around the globe loved Queen Elizabeth, she said.

"People from all around the world would come to visit her home," Rasmus said.

Buckingham Palace announced Thursday that the queen had died at Balmoral Castle, her summer residence in Scotland, after members of the royal family had rushed to her side after her health took a turn for the worse.

A link to the almost-vanished generation that fought World War II, she was the only monarch most Britons have ever known, and her name defines an age: the modern Elizabethan Era.

Ann Brown of Mansfield said she shared a few tears at the death of Queen Elizabeth.

Brown and many others in Mansfield, Ohio, have a great relationship with Mansfield, England, through the Sister Cities Program.

She became quite knowledgeable about the United Kingdom through her Sister Cities experiences.

"The Queen's sense of duty sets her apart from most 'leaders.' I truly admired her," said Brown, who was born in Poland.

lwhitmir@gannett.com

419-521-7223

Twitter: @LWhitmir

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: British native living in Ohio says queen 'served my country well'