Phyllis Joanne Johnson Parrish passed away peacefully of old age on Mother's Day, May 12, 2013 at Glen Meadows Retirement Community outside Baltimore. She was 87. She was well loved, and will be greatly missed.
Funeral services were held at the Carlson-Holmquist-Sayles Funeral Home, Joliet, Illinois, Saturday, May 18, with interment at Woodlawn Park. Memorials to the Silver Cross Foundation (1900 Silver Cross Blvd., New Lenox, IL 60451) will be appreciated.
She is survived by her daughter Joanne (Michael) George of Longmont, Colorado and her son Willard (Leslie) Parrish of Abingdon, Maryland, grandchildren Rebecca Lynne Parrish, Amaria (Jeremy) George Parker, and Gregory (Shana) George, great grandchildren Kylen and Elijah Parker, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. She was preceded in death by her parents John Edwin Johnson and Clara Wilhelmina Flint Johnson, and sisters Alberta Lauterbach and Rachel Sweet.
Phyllis was born on December 11, 1925 in Joliet, where she lived most of her life. A graduate of Joliet Township High School class of 1943, she afterward worked at the Joliet Arsenal supporting the war effort. She attended Iowa State University, graduating with a degree in experimental foods. After graduation, she worked for Pillsbury foods in Minneapolis, participating in the early development of cake mixes and breakfast cereals.
She married Willard Clark Parrish, Jr., and they had two children. After a separation and divorce from her husband in 1954, Phyllis returned to Joliet and lived there most of the rest of her life. She entered the teaching profession, using her food background to teach home economics. She began her teaching career in Plainfield, moving to the Joliet school district in ~1961. She studied summers, and received her Master's in Education from the University of Illinois. She was named the chair of the Joliet Township East High School Department of Home Economics, when it opened in 1964. She taught cooking, sewing and child development until her retirement in 1986. Nothing pleased her more than meeting former students who commented on how much they had enjoyed her classes and the life lessons learned.
Always a great cook - even in her tiny kitchen - she enjoyed entertaining, and was the family pie baker. At Christmas time, she would produce many batches of pecan rolls to give to relatives and friends.
After her retirement, she devoted much of her time to the Silver Cross Advisory Board and the Encore Shop - working at their resale shop, which used profits to purchase specialized equipment for the hospital. Retirement also gave her more time to indulge her love of bridge, knitting, needlework, gardening, travel, and getting together with friends and family. Her family was her pride and joy. She traveled world-wide but especially loved our family get-aways every two years during which we traveled to Michigan, Colorado's Grand Lake, North Carolina's Outer Banks, and a dude ranch in Wyoming.
In 2007, she moved to Glen Meadows to be near her granddaughter, Rebecca. She loved the beautiful setting. Phyllis could sit in her window and look out over the valley, seeing deer and birds, or watching the squirrels play in the trees outside. She continued to play bridge as long as she was able, but also loved many other kinds of games and puzzles. She always liked to keep her mind and hands busy, and was found working Sudoku or crossword puzzles if there was nothing else going on. Together with family, it was usually the card game of "Oh, Hell". Up until the end, she had a remarkable grasp of anything to do with numbers.
She also kept her dry sense of humor. Within a week of her death, a physical therapist was working with her, trying to get her out of her wheelchair, and back using her walker. She said "Let's get up and go for a little walk now." Phyllis responded "I'm tired. You go for a walk. I'll wait for you here."
Tributes
Leave a tribute10 years! The time has gone by so quickly, it doesn't seem nearly so long. I still miss you. But you are still with me every day, especially in my culinary and creative endeavors.
I love this time of year, as you did, with more flowers coming into bloom each day. The lilacs and lily of the valley are blooming now, and I picked some for you this morning.
Last year at this time, we were on Prince Edward Island, celebrating Rebecca's graduation from veterinary school. And now she is working as a veterinarian, as you knew was always her goal. You would be so proud.
Next month, we are having another Johnson-Flint family reunion - the third one here in Colorado. You would love our reunions here, up in Estes Park. We will be remembering and celebrating you, your sisters and cousins, parents, aunts and uncles. Your cousin John will hopefully be able to attend. He's the last of your generation.
Loving and remembering you always,
Joanne
It's hard to believe it's been 7 years that you've been gone. Yet you will always be with me - part of me. This is such a strange year, with the Covid-19, and I am thankful that you are not having to live through it. It's especially hard on people in senior living facilities - and even those who aren't getting ill are having their lives disrupted so much. I'm still glad I was able to have that time with you in your last days.
I love you forever,
Joanne
I have so many wonderful specific memories of Aunt Phyllis at so many family gatherings. She was always quick to smile, and her common-sense, warm approach to life was remarkable.
With loving memories, Nephew Steve
I just decorated our Christmas tree and I am always reminded of you as I hang the many beautiful ornaments you made for me. You were such a fine role model with your impeccable workmanship. Thanks for setting such a good example. I miss you, love, Katherine
On this day of the 89th anniversary on your arrival in this world, we remember you and all the love you gave us.
Love always, Joanne
Will
With love, Steve, Cathy, and Eric
Leave a Tribute
10 years! The time has gone by so quickly, it doesn't seem nearly so long. I still miss you. But you are still with me every day, especially in my culinary and creative endeavors.
I love this time of year, as you did, with more flowers coming into bloom each day. The lilacs and lily of the valley are blooming now, and I picked some for you this morning.
Last year at this time, we were on Prince Edward Island, celebrating Rebecca's graduation from veterinary school. And now she is working as a veterinarian, as you knew was always her goal. You would be so proud.
Next month, we are having another Johnson-Flint family reunion - the third one here in Colorado. You would love our reunions here, up in Estes Park. We will be remembering and celebrating you, your sisters and cousins, parents, aunts and uncles. Your cousin John will hopefully be able to attend. He's the last of your generation.
Loving and remembering you always,
Joanne
Please be patient.
Please be patient.
Sewing with Mrs. Parrish
I had the good fortune of taking the elective class of beginning sewing at joliet east in '79 or '80. This class taught me skills that a stay- at- home mom has used many, many times. From sewing up a shepherd coustume for Christmas pagent or a Halloween costume or hemming or letting hems out as children grow. I knew we were not dealing with a rookie at all. I marveled at how she could take a flimsy paper outline and a stack of farbic and create something wearable! She made it fun and I couldn't wait to get to class. I was glad to read that she was able to enjoy a long retirement and was always surrounded by family. Everytime I get my Pfaff machine out, the SAME model as in high school no less, I think of you Mrs. Parrish.
A wonderful teacher
I was in Mrs. Parrish's home ec class at East (and after 35 years I still can't call her by her first name). She was a wonderful instructor -- I had her for only one year but I learned so much. It might have seemed like basic material at the time, but what I learned in her classes has paid off for years.