Phyllis Elene Turay

Phyllis was born on March 18, 1926, in Reno, Nevada, and also lived in San Francisco, San Diego, Liberty Lake, Seattle, and Redmond. She was a young girl during the Great Depression and watched her mother help feed people who were less fortunate. She continued with service to the community while she was involved with Camp Fire Girls and Rainbow Girls. As an older teenager, she worked in a lab that tested mustard gas masks for the troops during WWII. She graduated from Broadway High School in Seattle and achieved a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Washington. She met Norman A. Turay in Seattle early in 1946 at a discussion group at Seattle First Baptist Church. They were married June 27, 1946, and they shared a beautiful life together for 57 years. They bicycled through Europe, worked temporarily in Alaska, built a house in West Seattle while raising three daughters, and traveled the world in their retirement years.

Phyllis enjoyed playing the piano, she sang in the Fauntleroy Church choir, and dabbled in photography. She also liked walking on the beach and day hikes in the mountains with family. Phyllis participated in many organizations including PEO, the Seattle Arboretum, Genesee Hill Elementary School PTA, March of Dimes, American Cancer Society, Seattle Mountaineers, Seabeck Family Camp, Fauntleroy Community Church in West Seattle, and was a Girl Scout leader and a Camp Fire leader. She worked for a bank as a teller and for the Seattle Public Schools as a teacher and other supportive positions. She helped high school students who were struggling with math so they could graduate. After moving to Emerald Heights in Redmond, she volunteered in its coffee shop, the choir, and wrote articles for its newspaper publication, Emerald Lights. Throughout her life, she was a devoted Christian, and she was devoted to her parents, sister, and family.

Phyllis is preceded in death by her husband, Norman, and her sister, Nancy Fockler. She leaves behind her daughters Kathryn Turay, Patricia Ferguson (James), and Susan Cooper (David); five grandchildren Brian, Scott, Kevin, Robin, and Mark; great granddaughters Sofia and Adessa; and several nephews and nieces.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Emerald Heights Benevolent Fund in Redmond, Washington.