In a news article about the graduation of the Class of 1913, her name is stated as Mary Stella Mitchell.

Mary Stella Mitchell was born May 7, 1885 in Philadelphia. Her parents were James E. (Edward) Mitchell, a salesman, and Mary C. Murtland. At the time of the 1880 Federal Census, prior to Mary Stella's birth, the family had lived in Pittsburgh. Also in the home was Mary C. Murtland, the mother-in-law of Edward, so presumably the mother of Mary C. Mitchell. The family lived on Forbes Avenue and had a servant.

The 1900 census of Philadelphia finds Mary S. Mitchell, 16, born May 1884, living with her mother, Mary C. Mitchell, 59 (b Aug 1850), and her siblings, William A., 26 (b Sept 1873), Francis, 24 (b July 1879), Joseph E., 18 (b May 1882), and Kathryn (b Feb 1879), 21, a dressmaker. All were born in Pennsylvania. The father was not listed in the home, and the mother's marital status is widow. The stated birth years conflict somewhat with later records. Also, the father was apparently not dead.

On December 1, 1909, in Pittsburgh, Mary C. Mitchell died of cancer. Conflicts in the death record preclude a positive identification of her as the mother. The information was given by Kathryn Mitchell.

In 1910, Mary S. Mitchell, a hospital nurse, was living on Shady Avenue as a Lodger, with her sister, Kathryn G., a dress maker. At that time, Mary was not living at the Nurses' Home at St. Francis. Some others in the Class of 1913 were not living at the hospital in the 1910 census.

In 1913, Kathryn G. Mitchell married Lawrence L. Moran. The marriage announcement stated that her father, James Edward Mitchell, lived in Philadelphia and was "formerly of this city."

The WWI Draft Registration cards of two brothers, Joseph E. and Francis E. Mitchell, indicate they were both residents of Pittsburgh at that time.

"Mary S. Mitchell" is named in a 1922 history of the Pittsburgh Red Cross as a St. Francis graduate and a nurse at the University of Pittsburgh Base Hospital, No. 27, during World War I.

In her application for compensation for her service during World War I, dated April 1934, Mary Stella (Mitchell) Best stated she was living at the State Soldiers' Home, located at Lafayette, Indiana. The institution is located in West Lafayette, Tippecanoe County. She was there at the time of the 1940 census, as well, at which time she was 55 years old and a widow. At some point in the application process, stamped with the date June 1934, she said she was living in Pittsburgh.

Mary Stella Mitchell must have married Mr. Best, given name unknown, and their daughter, Mary Catherine Best, named in the pension application, was born about 1921. The "heart trouble" she mentions must have caused her to move to the Soldiers' Home. It is not known if she was a widow when she first lived there, nor is it known if she remained there for the rest of her life.

Mary Stella Mitchell Best died March 16, 1963. She is buried at Marion National Cemetery, Marion, Indiana.