Phyllis was born in Brightlingsea, Essex, England, the 4th of 9 children born to Dorothy and Harold Gentry. She is pre-deceased by her siblings Jim (Rita), Betty (Gerald), Jean (Philip) and Eileen and survived by Tom (Violet), Margaret (Derick), Sheila (Bill) and John (Marion).
Also left to mourn are her daughters Julie (Ron) Hillsden, Gillian (Jeff) Huber and honourary daughter Anne (Stephen) Stanton. Missing her terribly are her Grandsons – Paul (Brooke), Noel (Tara), Ryan and David (Tara), her honourary Granddaughters - Simone and Emma and her great-Grandchildren – Cody, Alex, Noah, Ethan, Matt, Taylor and Grace. Also mourning is her best friend and travel buddy – Maureen Aspel.
Phyllis had a long, productive life. She will be remembered for her love of family, her smile, her compassionate volunteerism, her strong, feisty, independent personality – and her knitted socks.
During the Cold War, Phyllis was a member of the Civil Defense in England. She drove an ambulance and taught First Aid classes. Julie and Gillian have fond memories of being dragged along on Exercises to be simulated casualties. They also spent weekends on Jaywick Sands Beach while Phyllis and her volunteers manned a First Aid Hut. Phyllis later became an Auxilliary Nurse and worked many years of night shifts at Essex County Hospital before emigrating to Canada in 1981. She was one of the first staff members on site when Resthaven Lodge opened in Sidney where she worked as a Care Aid until she retired in 1994. That ‘retirement’ didn’t take and she worked part-time on-call for another 10 years before she finally retired from ‘paid work’ to become an unpaid volunteer.
Phyllis didn’t believe in sitting still. Her many volunteer activities included her beloved St Andrews Church where, for years, she has assisted with Wednesday Soup Lunches and Memorial teas along with anything else that was asked of her. She was a docent at The Mary Winspear Centre (one of her great-grandsons delighted in telling people that his 90 yr-old Great Grandma worked security at Mary Winspear), she manned the entrance doors to many a Cat Show in Show-halls all over the Pacific Northwest. She volunteered at Resthaven Lodge with the ‘Knitting Club’ and at Abbeyfield House. Phyllis has knitted baby Shawls and jackets for dozens of babies, hats for hundreds of newborns at Victoria General Hospital and Argyle Socks for everyone. She touched so many lives with her generosity.
At 80yrs of age, Phyllis decided that she wanted to have a cyber-presence. The family set her up with a computer and internet access. She became proficient at email, Facebook (where she
happily stalked her family and ensured conversation was polite and without profanity) and video-chatting. Since February when she first became ill, she has video-chatted with her beloved sister and brother-in-law – Margaret and Derick – in England almost every day.
Phyllis stayed in her own little house in the Kiwanis Village in North Saanich as long as it was practical. When it was evident that she needed more help she had to overcome that fierce independence of hers and agree to move to Julie’s house in Victoria. She spent her last 12 days there and was visited by all the family and her close friends. She passed away surrounded by the love that she had created in all of us.
The family owes a huge debt of gratitude to Phyllis’s doctors – Drs Ryan Liebscher and Chloe Solanki – and we can’t even begin to imagine what we would have done without the compassionate care and support Phyllis – and the whole family – received from the Palliative Response Team from the Victoria Hospice Society.
Phyllis will be cremated and her ashes scattered in a private family gathering. There will be a Celebration of Life Service at St Andrews Anglican Church in Sidney at a later date when Services are allowed.
If anyone wishes to make a donation in Phyllis’s name, please consider the Victoria Hospice Society. https://victoriahospice.org/how-you-can-help/ways-to-donate/donate/
Phyllis told us many times that she didn’t want anyone’s tears, just love and prayers. Love and prayers are easy, the no tears bit, not so much, but we are trying.
Love you Mum. Until we meet again.
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