Phyllis J. Wiersema

Phyllis J. Wiersema, age 96, passed away peacefully in Crystal River, Florida on June 21, 2021, surrounded by her family. She was the last of six children born to Jacob Achterhof and Harriet Ostema Achterhof of Morrison, IL on February 15, 1925. Phyllis graduated from Morrison High School and worked for several years in the Morrison area. On October 17, 1944, she married John R. Wiersema, also of Morrison.

The young couple farmed southeast of Morrison for 24 years and raised six children there. In 1970, they moved into town and had a much more comfortable life. John worked for General Electric for over 24 years while Phyllis had become a journalist, working for 17 years as a writer and editor for the Sterling (IL) Gazette. The couple then retired to Port Charlotte, FL, 1986 where they enjoyed the beach, made many new friends, and travelled to visit old friends and new vistas around the country. Phyllis developed an interest in genealogy and researched the lineage for both the Achterhof and Wiersema families, dating to the 1600s in Holland. They enjoyed retirement life for 10 happy years, frequently travelling to see their children in Texas, California, Florida, Colorado and Connecticut, as their careers progressed. After John’s death in 1997, Phyllis continued to live in Port Charlotte until 2004, when Hurricane Charlie ruined her home. At that point, she and the family made the decision to move closer to family, and she then moved to Cedar Creek , an assisted living facility, in Crystal River, FL near daughter Judy Morgan and son Don Wiersema. Because of her 17-year residence there, she became known as the Queen of Cedar Creek. She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Crystal River.

Phyllis was preceded in death by her loving husband John of 53 years, her sons-in-law Anthony Scalise and John Pickelman, her sisters Janet Lartz, Savanna, IL, and Eloise Salminen, St. Paul, MN and her brothers Raymond Achterhof, Geneseo, IL and Marvin Achterhof, Brown Deer, WI.

Survivors include her children Judith Morgan (Jason), Lecanto, FL, Barbara Pickelman, Frisco, TX, Alan Wiersema (Judith), Charlestown, RI, Donald Wiersema (Kathy), Lecanto, FL, Gayle Scalise, Newington, CT, and Jean Dolan (Michael), Westlake Village, CA and by her brother Bernard Achterhof, age 98, Geneseo, IL. She also leaves 7 grandchildren, 2 step-grandchildren, 7 great grandchildren plus one on the way and 4 step great grandchildren, along with extended family around the country.

Special thanks and appreciation go to the skilled and caring staff at Cedar Creek for their years of loving care of our mother, and to VITAS hospice for their comfort and support in her last days.

A private family service will be at a later date.

Condolences may be sent to the family through Fero Funeral Home (MeM website)