Phyllis Pauline Zamarripa

Phyllis Pauline Sparks Zamarripa was born in Springfield, Colorado on September 18, 1938, to

Dorwin David Sparks and Gertrude Taylor Sparks. She passed away October 18, 2021, at home

surrounded by her loving husband and family after a long battle with lung disease.

The youngest of ten children, Phyllis was raised in Springfield, CO where she graduated in 1957

from Springfield High School. After graduation, she, and her friend of over 70 years, Kathy

Bacino, moved to Pueblo, Colorado in 1962 where she worked as a psychiatric technician at the

Colorado State Hospital. She met Thomas (Midge) Zamarripa in 1963 and he stole her heart.

They were married on July 17, 1965. Phyllis’ daughters Jolene and Sheila were nurtured into

this union. Later, the couple had a set of twins, Deborah and Deanna, who completed their

sweet family.

In 1970, Phyllis pursued her Associate of Arts degree from Southern Colorado State College

(SCSC) while continuing her work at the state hospital. Her drive to continue her higher

education awarded her two more degrees. A Bachelor of Science degree (BSW) from the

University of Southern Colorado in 1978 and a Master’s Degree in Social Work from the

University of Denver in 1980. Although Phyllis was very passionate about education, she was

more so regarding helping others as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Through her social work

interactions helping people, she touched many lives.

Phyllis was also a staunch supporter of labor unions. Early in her career, Phyllis was notably a

strong and respected leader and sought to bring positive changes for working people. Working

with the labor unions was also one of Phyllis’ deep passions. She was proud of her work, and

she made sure her children understood what she did. Her girls knew the meaning of each

acronym for the organizations she worked most closely with. AFSCME, the American

Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees and PEOPLE, the Public Employees

Organized to Promote Legislative Equality, were the two main unions she so proudly served.

Phyllis helped organize rallies and meetings, served on committees, and held official positions in

the Unions for over 50 years. Her work with the union empowered her to stand up for all working

people by fighting the good fight, walking picket lines, organizing rallies, and walking district

after district in support of political candidates. She served as President, Vice President, and

Secretary for AFSCME local 123, Council 76, and PERA retirees. The hard work she did for the

union was rewarded with appointments at an international level, which included the Women’s

Committee and Judicial Panel. Her accomplishments include being the first woman to represent

AFSCME in Moscow, Russia, and Finland in 1983. After she retired from the State Hospital in

1994, she continued representing retirees with the unions. She put her heart and soul into the

AFSCME Union for the Retired PERA workers and was involved until the very end attending

meetings on Zoom and proudly placing her vote when needed. Her experience, knowledge and

heart-felt passion for the union will be such a loss for the profession of social work and union

representation in general. She was proud to have one of her granddaughters, Rebekah, to be

one of the first recipients of the AFSCME FREE College Scholarship in 2017 receiving her

associates in early childhood education.

Her work with the union presented yet another opportunity for her: politics. Phyllis was an active

liaison helping people provide their voice and to have that voice heard in the electorate. She

worked as an election judge and also spent many hours lobbying at the Capitol for the working

people she faithfully represented in the unions. In her life, she rubbed elbows with many political

icons such as Jimmy Carter, Bill and Hilary Clinton, Barak and Michelle Obama, Nelson

Mandela, Colin Powell, and many more from the national level to the local level. She was a

powerful member of the Pueblo Democratic Party and served several terms as a delegate at the

Democratic National Convention. In 2019, she received the honorable Democratic Lifetime

Achievement Award. All these things made Phyllis a pillar of her local community, and a

valuable asset to the national community. But what she was known best for, was her love for her

family and friends.

To Phyllis, the most precious people in her life were her family. She and Tom (Midge) were

married for 56 years. Together, they loved to travel. Tom and Phyllis travelled often to Hawaii,

Oregon, and California. They also spent her 80th birthday sightseeing in Ireland, Whales and

England. Throughout their 56 years together, these two sweethearts would always be by each

other’s side. Faithfully, they ended each day with three kisses to each other before drifting off to

sleep. Often, they were found dancing in the kitchen, and of course spending time with their

children and grandchildren. They enjoyed their lives together while camping, boating, and of

course, fishing. They always shared each of their passions and their time with family. Annually,

they held a fish fry or BBQ for extended family and friends.

Their lifetime together blessed them with four daughters, eight granddaughters, two grandsons

and a great grandchild expected in March 2022. Phyllis was often called the glue that holds her

family together. She blessed her family with her wonderful cooking and had a special skill for

making cocoa and biscuits and fantastic tamales. Cocoa and Biscuits became a family tradition

at holidays or just about anytime the grandchildren visited! She was a loyal supporter for each of

her daughters as she encouraged them to grow and go into the world with the intention of

changing it for the better—something that can easily be seen in the girls’ lives today. She did not

stop there though! She “adopted '' several other children along the way through student

exchange programs as she opened her home to kids who needed a place to stay during the

Colorado State Fair and various other times over the years.

Phyllis was also a skilled craftswoman and entrepreneur. She was a representative for Organo

Gold (OG) Coffee and Premier Design Jewelry, which provided many new opportunities to meet

new friends and build relationships. She loved to crochet, sew, craft, cook, design, and create!

She took every opportunity to share her life story and her passions with her family- especially

her grandchildren. This is evident in the way each of them honors her legacy by working hard,

loving and serving others, and raising their families with her same determination and

unconditional love.

According to her grandchildren, Phyllis was the best grandmother ever. Her grandchildren would

describe her in these words: hilarious, undeniably herself, fun, caring, loving, master of the

kitchen, life of the party, busybody, powerful, strong, and crafty. Being called “Grandma” was a

pure blessing to her ears! She attended the birth of every one of her grandchildren (even when

she had to make back-to-back trips to see the births of Matthew and Makayla, who were born

20 hours apart). She deeply loved each of her granddaughters but was especially excited to

have two grandsons close in age. Some of the best memories the grandchildren have of their

grandma are traveling, phone calls during election season, sitting and crocheting or doing

puzzles, watching football on a Sunday, cooking, stealing her fresh bread without getting caught

and especially her unconditional love. The greatest blessing she recently received was when

her granddaughter, Megan, told her that she was going to be a great grandma, which was a

status that she truly longed for. Her joy and excitement of hearing the news was probably heard

coast-to-coast! She loved attending her grandchildren’s events as often as possible. You would

notice her as the loudest cheerleader in the stands or on the sidelines. Her cheering and great

support of marching bands earned her a spot to travel with the Littleton High School band to

Germany, Prague, Austria, and Hawaii. In her lifetime, she attended countless events for her

grandkids.

Her life story would not be complete without mentioning the sweet friendship she had with her

late sister-in-law, Lorneza. These two were a force to be reckoned with! They began their force

together during their years in the Cameo Club together. Phyllis was always organizing events

and leading the charge at committee meetings and, of course, building the parade floats. Phyllis

and Lorenza’s most famous activity was making tamales! You could find them in the kitchen

every November cooking chili and pork and making masa for tamales. This beloved tradition will

always live on with Lorenza’s and Phyllis’ families forever.

Phyllis spent her recent time in Denver surrounded by family and using social media to connect

and reconnect with as many friends and family as she could. This brought her great joy! She

just loved reaching out to family and friends even though at times, she was

technology-challenged but aren’t we all at times?

She is preceded in death by her parents: Dorwin and Gerturde Sparks. She was also the last

survivor of the ten Sparks children: Mary, Bertha, Helen, Howard, ElsieMae, David, Fred,

Ethaline, Lily, and now Phyllis.

She is survived by her husband Tom (Midge) Zamarripa of Pueblo, CO, her four Daughters

Jolene Lucero (Ed) of Highlands Ranch, CO, Sheila Moore of Colorado Springs, CO, Deborah

Zamarripa-Stonecipher (Gregg) of Wellington, CO and Deanna Encinias (Paul) of Centennial,

CO, and her 10 grandchildren Jessica Encinias of Centennial, CO, Melissa Lucero of Parker,

CO, Megan Russell (Brian) of Parker, CO, Michelle Stonecipher of Wellington, CO, Amber

Moore of Colorado Springs, CO, Joseph Encinias (Rachel) of Elgin, MN, Matthew Moore of

Colorado Springs, CO, Makayla Lucero of Jacksonville FL, Rebekah Stonecipher of Wellington,

CO and Julia Encinias of Fort Collins, CO.

Of special note: Great Grandbaby Russell due March 2022 and many nieces and nephews from

all over the US.

“I believe individuals have rights. Some people can’t stand up for themselves. That’s why they

have people like me” --- Phyllis Zamarripa 1994