Viola R. Turner Phelps

Viola Rose Turner Phelps was born June 18, 1930, in Kansas City, Missouri, to George Henry and Martha May Turner. She is joined in Heaven now with them, her half sister Penni, and youngest daughter Patricia. She is survived by her husband of 55 ½ years Tom; her children Daniel and Penni; her brother George; nieces and nephews spread from California to Texas to Ohio; her extended family, “the girls” Sherri, Janis, Dianne, Karen; and “the grandkids” Sydney, Connor, and Chanc.

Vi and Tom met at the USO in Kansas City, while Tom—just back from the Korean War—was stationed in Ft. Riley, Kansas. Kansas City was a long way from the farmland of Ohio where Tom grew up. And this city girl named Vi was something special. As Vi told the story, they were introduced by a friend of Vi’s and spent the evening talking. Well, at least Vi spent the evening talking. Tom’s portion of the conversation apparently consisted of one-word responses to Vi’s questions and an occasional head nod. But even after such a “dynamic” start, they managed to forge an amazing life together.

Shortly after marrying, Tom received orders that took them to Germany where they lived in various luxury accommodations, including a small flat above a meat market where the windowsill served as their refrigerator and they had the pleasure of sharing a bath with the other tenants. It was in Germany, however, where one of the best days of their life together came to pass. Their son Daniel was born in a Nuremburg hospital on July 3, 1957. Not long after Daniel was born, it was time to pack up and head back to the States, but Tom had to go ahead of Vi and Daniel. So Vi, with baby in tow, navigated the rigors of military. After several false starts and a lot of foot stomping, Vi and Daniel finally made it to Ft. Dix; unfortunately, Tom was at Ft. Mammoth. Undaunted, Tom jumped in the car and drove the few hours necessary to retrieve his family.

Once they were back in States, Tom was assigned to Ft. Benning, Georgia. After a few years there, they decided that military life was not for them. It was too uncertain, and they would be moving all the time. So they packed up once again and headed for Kansas City. Once in Kansas City, Tom found work at Western Auto and began electrician‘s school. They had their plan in place—Tom would become an electrician, and they would live happily ever after in Kansas City. But as the saying goes, the best laid plans can be interrupted, in this case it was when a little girl named Penni came on the scene. So, expecting their second child, Tom needed to work full time at Western Auto to support his growing family. Meanwhile, a pregnant Vi managed to fall off the trailer hitch she was standing on to clean the windows on their trailer, crushing three discs in her spine. Now anyone who knows Vi can find the irony of Vi hurting herself cleaning. You could eat off that woman’s floors. She was the epitome of a dedicated housewife and mother. She went on to deliver Penni, crushed disc and all, which had to have been excruciating. However, no one knows because she never complained. After Penni was born, Vi had to wear a full torso back brace for six months. Since Penni was born in April, she was in that brace the entire summer, while caring for a very active 5-year-old son and a newborn. And again, without complaint, when talking about it, she would smile and say, “It was just what needed to be done.”

With a growing family, it was time to settle down and buy their first home. They found a cute little place in Shawnee Mission and settled in. Vi, being Vi and having never met a stranger, quickly made friends with the other ladies in the neighborhood, organizing “the kids are back in school” parties and generally running the social scene for the group. While in Shawnee, Vi and Tom had their third child, Patricia. Patricia was born with holes in her heart and Down syndrome and only lived a year. Once again though, Vi and Tom faced the most difficult thing that can happen to parent as team and got through it. Although their sorrow had to be immense, once again you would never hear them complain or tell their story as though they had suffered some great injustice. They simply “did what needed to be done.”

They continued their “plan” to live happily ever after in Kansas City. Tom was offered a promotion, but it required a move to Council Bluffs, Iowa. And, so it began … from Council Bluffs, they went to Davenport, Iowa, then Independence, Missouri, from there to Cedar Falls, Iowa. Next was Petersburg, Illinois, and then came Independence again, and they weren’t done yet. Richardson, Texas, was the next stop, then Mt. Comfort, Indiana, and back to Richardson. By now, Dan and Penni were starting their own lives with careers and college, but Tom and Vi were still moving. From Richardson, they went to San Antonio, then Waco, and finally back to the DFW area to land in Plano where they managed to stay for the past 17 years.

Through all the moves, new schools, and new houses, one thing remained a constant—a strong family unit that believed “as long as we are together, it doesn’t matter where we are.” Dan and Penni spent countless hours playing cards or board games with Vi and Tom. And when work took Tom away from the family, Vi managed to keep the house running even though she did not drive and often walked to the store or doctor’s appointments. Dan and Penni could count on Vi to be waiting each day when they returned home from school, and of course, they could also count on being required to give a detailed accounting of the day’s events. Vi was a mix of strict disciplinarian and crazy playmate who would join in the water fights with the neighborhood kids.

As they passed through all those various towns, they made lifelong friends. Vi sent out well over 100 Christmas cards every year. She never forgot her friends and seemed to pick them up everywhere she went. Among her dearest friends were waitresses she befriended at restaurants she frequented, hairstylists, neighbors, store clerks, and just about anyone she came in contact with on a regular basis. And if you were a friend of Vi’s, you were never forgotten on your birthday, anniversary, or at Christmas time. “The girls” truly held a special place in Vi’s heart. She loved them like her own just as she did Sydney, Connor, and Chanc who tell stories of trips to see Santa, birthday breakfasts topped off with hot fudge sundaes, showing off their Halloween costumes, or playing board games with their “Grandma Vi.”

Her family also was blessed by Vi. Her many nieces and nephews loved it when Aunt Vi and Uncle Tom would come to visit. Vi would play with the kids and even require report card checks from a few to make sure they were walking the straight and narrow. And don’t think anything got by her. If there was a grade she deemed unacceptable, she wasn’t afraid to give the guilty party a good talking-to. Just ask Steve who loved his Aunt Vi but dreaded the report card review. However, Steve and his Aunt Vi were absolutely crazy about each other. Dan and Penni often joked that if they didn’t act right, she would trade them in for Steve.

Vi loved to travel. She and Tom went to Europe, navigating the streets of Paris in a rental car and managing to see “sights” not listed in most travel books. They went to Hawaii several times, cruised the Caribbean, and visited almost every state in the union. Of course, they picked up a few more friends on every trip.

The story of Viola Rose Turner Phelps was a complex and diverse tapestry of great joy and unspeakable sorrows. She had struggles and bore sorrows that most of us will never know, but she also had the best of life. She had a husband who loved her unconditionally for more than 55 years and children who not only loved her, but respected her indomitable spirit and learned how to live life through her example. She had lifelong friends who became family to her. Her smile could light up the room and those piercing blue eyes could look right into your soul. She will be greatly missed but never forgotten. Just look at those who love her, and you will see a little piece of her that she poured into their spirit.

You are invited to a visitation at the home of her daughter, Penni, whose address is 1517 Broken Bow, Carrollton, TX., from 4 - 6 pm Sunday, May 15th. Funeral Services will be at 11:30 a.m. Monday, May 16th in the Rhoton Funeral Home Chapel with burial at the Dallas - Fort Worth National Cemetery at 1:30 p.m.

Arrangements under the direction of Rhoton Funeral Home, Carrollton, TX.