Phyllis Carlson-Riehm

Phyllis Louise Carlson-Riehm was born in Jamestown, NY to Jean Anita and Philip Nelson Rainier Carlson. On December 2, 2021, in Columbus, Ohio we lost this amazing fighter for the rights of the disenfranchised. Phyllis graduated from Jamestown High School where she was already exhibiting her propensity for her work as an employee of the local newspaper while still a student. She continued working for the newspaper while attending Allegheny College where she wrote a column detailing college life under the pseudonym Lacey Lane. After starting a family, she continued working and/or volunteering for the school system, PTA and Girl Scouts. She moved with her spouse and children to Liverpool, New York and relocated again 4 years later to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. In Northeast Ohio she became involved in the National Organization for Women serving as the Ohio Chapter President from 1985-1988 and 1990-1992. In 1995 Phyllis moved to Columbus, Ohio where she continued her activism. She served as a trustee on the board of Ohio Women, Inc. where she held numerous leadership positions including multiple terms as president and vice president. She also began working for ACTION OHIO Coalition for Battered Women. She served as the Executive Director of ACTION OHIO for more than 25 years until July 2021 when she stepped down and became a Board Member Emerita. As Executive Director of ACTION OHIO, she helped hundreds of individual victims and survivors of domestic violence and coordinated many trainings on domestic violence. She worked tirelessly to reform and improve Ohio's domestic violence laws, law enforcement policies, service agency protocols, and court practices, including providing testimony at the state legislature on changes to Ohio's domestic violence statutes. She also served for many years on the Board of Directors of the Ohio NOW Education and Legal Fund and on the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services' Family Violence Prevention Center Advisory Council. Phyllis was a colleague, a mentor and an energetic advocate for others. For more than 40 years, in her quiet unassuming way, she worked as a lobbyist and advocated for women's rights and women's issues. Through her efforts the lives of hundreds of women and girls were improved.

She is survived by her cousin Marilyn (Bob) Wescott, daughters Jennifer Riehm, Stephanie Christine, Melissa Riehm (Mark Smith), Pamela (Wess) Howard as well as 10 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. A celebration service will be held 1:00pm Sunday December 12th at SCHOEDINGER WORTHINGTON 6699 N. High St. (1/2 mile south of 270). Following the celebration, the family will receive friends at the funeral home from 2:00pm-4:00pm.