Pandora, OH
Martha L. Hilty, 93, who co-owned the former Star Lunch diner that was a Main Street fixture for nearly 40 years, died Friday at Hilty Memorial Home in Pandora.

The cause of death was heart failure, Gary Hilty, her son, said.

Situated "right in the center of town," the diner served breakfast, lunch, and dinner from its opening in 1930 until it closed in 1969, Mr. Hilty said.

Mrs. Hilty's stepfather, the late Bert Hews, started the diner business, and Mrs. Hilty began working there while still a teenager, her son said. She was on the job when she met Cyril Hilty, a customer who became her husband.

The couple married in 1936, and about seven years later the two became owners and operators of the diner in this Putnam County community. They later settled in a house next door to the diner that was connected by a walkway.

For years, the Star Lunch was considered the popular meeting spot in town, and frequented by everyone from businessmen to high school sweethearts. Mrs. Hilty loved being in the center of it all.

"In a small town like that, almost everyone who came in she knew," her son said.

The diner served a full menu that included burgers, fries, T-bone steaks, and ice cream. It was especially known for its milk shakes, Mr. Hilty said.

When it came to making milk shakes, Mrs. Hilty knew the secret was giving customers what they had ordered.

"If they [customers] asked for a thick one, they'd end up with so much ice cream you would need a spoon to eat it," Mr. Hilty said.

Star Lunch did some of its heaviest business on the nights of high school basketball or football games. Mrs. Hilty and her husband often closed the diner to attend Pandora-Gilboa High School home games, and later returned to serve the post-game crowd, Mr. Hilty said.

Star Lunch closed in 1969 when Cyril Hilty, who died in 1977, retired. Mrs. Hilty later worked for about six years at the former H&H Grocery store in town before retiring.

About eight years ago, Mrs. Hilty moved in with her son Gary Hilty and his family; she had been living at Hilty Memorial Home since December. Surviving are her son, Gary Hilty; daughter, Ginger Gamble; stepsisters, Mary Ellen Eichenauer and Bernadine Basinger; three grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren, and a great-great grandchild.

Visitation will be after 4 p.m. today at Chiles & Laman Funeral Home, Bluffton. The funeral will begin at 11 a.m. tomorrow in Pandora United Methodist Church. The family suggests tributes to the church or to the National Alliance of Mental Illness of Crawford County for suicide awareness.

Originally published online here: http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070402/NEWS13/704020369/-1/NEWS