Phyllis Elaine Michael

"I am convinced of this, that God, who began a good work in you will go on completing it until the day of Christ Jesus."

-- Philippians 1:6

Phyllis Elaine Jones Michael was born May 23, 1942, in Kansas City, Missouri, to Elizabeth Evelyn Brown Jones and Clare Hartley Jones. She died at home in Tigard, Oregon on Wednesday, July 25, 2025 at 2 am. She was the fourth child in her family, having two older sisters, Elizabeth Ann and Sara Denise, and an older brother, David Hartley.

She lived in Kansas City until she was 18, when she attended Bethany Nazarene College (now Southern Nazarene University) and graduated in 1964 with a BA in English and a minor in secondary education. In the fall of 1964, she began a three-year assignment, teaching seventh grade Unified Studies at Milburn Junior High in Shawnee, Kansas. Along the way and then fulltime in 1967-68, she attained a Master of Arts in English Language and Literature at the University of Kansas City, Missouri. In 1968, she was a pioneer faculty member at Mid-America Nazarene College (now University) in Olathe, Kansas, teaching Freshman English, English Literature, American Literature, and various other English courses.

In the fall of 1968, she met Rand Michael, a student at Nazarene Theological Seminary. They married on September 27, 1969, in Kansas City, Missouri. After Rand finished seminary, they planted a church in South Lake Tahoe, California, where their first daughter, Elizabeth Ann, was born. Following this assignment, Rand pastored in Sterling, Colorado and Lenexa, Kansas. Their second daughter, Sara Jeanne, was born in Kansas City, Missouri, St. Luke’s Hospital, where Phyllis was born 33 years earlier.

When Rand began a free-lance ministry in 1976, Phyllis taught as an adjunct at Mid America Nazarene College in the English Department. Phyllis and Rand became involved in Marriage Enrichment, first as participants and then as a leader and trainer couple for the Association for Couples in Marriage Enrichment (now Better Marriages). They participated in Couple Communication and became trainers for Interpersonal Communication Programs. They also served as the President Couple of the Heart of America ACME Chapter and chaired the National Training and Certification Committee for ACME.

In 1979 Phyllis began work on an MS in Counseling Psychology at the University of Kansas, graduating in 1984 with a 4.0 grade average. That same year she accepted the position of Family Life Education Coordinator with Heart of America Family Services (now the Family Conservancy). She held that position for nine years, during which time she made friends with Cheryl and Stephan Collins, who have remained part of her family. When Rand became a Professor and Program Director in Marriage and Family Therapy at Western Evangelical Seminary (later merged with George Fox University), Phyllis also moved to Portland, Oregon, where she joined the faculty of Warner Pacific College (now University) as an Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Studies. As such, she led the college to add a baccalaureate program that qualified graduates to become Certified Family Life Educators with the National Council on Family Relations. She served as Chair of the Social Science Department for many years. She received the Kendall Award for Outstanding Teaching in 1995, the Second Miler Award, for “her commitment to the college that goes beyond her excellence in teaching, her willingness to be available students, her gift for working with her colleagues and her involvement on the Faculty Professional Concerns Committee.”

Alongside her teaching, being a mother to Liz and Sara, a mother-in-law to Nate and Chad, a “Grammy” to Riley, Katie, Michaela, William, Christian, Catherine, Jack, Anna, and Clare, Phyllis became a team member with Rand in sharing mental health services around the world, starting in 1988. Their non-profit organization, TELOS international, inc., has brought direct services and training to Israel, Burundi, Kenya, Albania, India, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Peru, to name a few of the areas touched. TELOS’ motto, “Encouraging, Empowering, Equipping,” has characterized their commitment to bring resources to underserved populations in the world.

Phyllis has also become a surrogate mom to her beloved Albanian daughters, Ardiana Halilij and Alma Gugushi, their spouses, Salvador and Jarod, and Grandma Phyllis to Nicolas and Damian.

Phyllis retired for the first time from Warner Pacific in 2014; then with Rand she wrote and implemented a Master of Arts in Human Services for the Professional and Graduate Studies program at Warner. In 2016, she returned for a fulltime year coordinating that program and finally retired in 2017. That same year, she received a Doctorate in Humane Letters from Mid America Nazarene University for her commitment to higher education and international ministry.

“The good work” which God began in her has continued as she has striven to grow in her faith and in her love for others. Phyllis’s kindergarten teacher wrote on her report card, “In her own quiet way, Phyllis is quite a leader.” Her life has exemplified that principle, being a quiet leader in many situations.

She leaves her husband, Rand Michael; daughters, Elizabeth Harding and Sara Pecknold; two sons-in-law, Nathan Harding and Chad Pecknold; nine grandchildren; a brother, David Hartley Jones; “adopted” daughters, Ardiana Halilij and Alma Gugushi, sons-in-law, Salvador Avila and Jarod Jacobs, and grandsons, Nicolas and Damian.

A viewing for Phyllis will be held Friday, July 25, 2025 from 2:00 PM to 2:30 PM, followed by a funeral service from 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM.