Phyllis Jane Smith

Phyllis passed away in the ninety-sixth year of her long and remarkable life. For perspective, in her birth year, Hollywood was producing “silent” films with stars like Buster Keaton, Clara Bow, Gloria Swanson, and Mae West. Work on Mount Rushmore had just begun. The first trans-Atlantic telephone call took place between New York and London. Babe Ruth hit sixty home runs, and Charles Lindbergh made the first solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

Phyllis’ early childhood coincided with the tail end of the “Roaring Twenties”, “Black Friday”, the “Market Crash of 29”, and the decade of the “Great Depression”. Her experiences revolved around income uncertainty, frequent moves, and food insecurity for her and her family of mother, father, older sister Lois, and younger sister Norma.

Her teen years passed during the decade of the 1940s and were influenced by the anxieties and privations brought about by the Second World War. At 18, she lost her father in a railroad accident. At 19, she married Franklyn Rittenhouse McGee. At 20, in 1947, she had her first child, Gregg. Four years later and by another marriage, she had her second child, Karen in 1952.

Through the next four decades, she excelled in multiple professional endeavors while maintaining her roles as wife and mother. She was an acclaimed server at multiple exclusive food establishments and an accomplished sales executive in product lines ranging from automobiles to cosmetics. She rose in the food-service industry to the position of Director of Dietary at Doctor’s Hospital in Canton, Ohio.

Among other interests, Phyllis had a remarkable interior decorating talent, and her advice was widely sought. She frequently organized and produced entertainment shows playing roles of “Frosty the Snowman”, “The Christmas Fairy”, and the comedy routine “Zelda”. Her favorite recreation was ballroom dancing at which she starred.

Phyllis lived nearly one hundred years as a daughter, sister, aunt, wife, mother, grandmother, homemaker, professional, and friend. She loved life, held strong opinions, made many friends, and provided steadfast support and a source of great strength for her family. She maintained faith in God and received inspiration from The Reverend Bob Martin of the St. Petersburg First United Methodist Church.

Phyllis was one of the final embers of the “Greatest Generation” which has endured so much and remained so strong. We will miss her greatly, but her spirit will remain with us.

Son: Gregg (McGee) Edwards

Daughter: Karen (Slippey) Wolff

Daughter-in-Law: Janice (Grason) Edwards

Granddaughter: Charissa (Edwards) Sumerlin

Granddaughter: Kerri (Edwards) Pocock

Grandniece: Patti (Smith) Peterman

Grandson-In-Law: Daniel Pocock