Wilma L. Phelan

August 29, 1929 - May 12, 2014

Wilma Phelan, 84, Devoted and beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, genealogist, historian, writer, avid correspondent, died peacefully Monday, May 12, 2014, in Rockville, MD.

Kind, generous, with great compassion for others, a quiet inner strength, and boundless patience, Wilma led a long and multifaceted life, taking her on a journey from her wholesome Midwestern upbringing to fast paced Washington, D.C. to exotic postings abroad.

Born in Akron, OH, the eldest daughter of Merwin and Mamie (Paugh) Lilliedale, she entered the world in 1929, just as the stock market was about to crash. A year later, Wilma's only sister, Marna, was born. Following Marna's birth, the girls lost their mother.

Graduating, at age 17, from Akron's North HS, she then moved to "the Capital City", working as a "government girl" for the Dept. of Defense, and pursing a Political Science major at G.W. Univ. Her former husband's Foreign Service career took them to Puerto Rico, where her first son was born, and later, with three children, to São Paulo, Brazil, where she taught English.

She developed a great passion for genealogical and historical research, earning her a great deal of respect. A frequent contributor to a periodical dedicated to Pocahontas and her descendants, Pocahontas Quarterly, (edited by Elizabeth D. Richardson) Wilma never ceased researching and writing letters to advance her knowledge and enrich the community of her peers in the field. An avid correspondent, she, undoubtedly, had written thousands of letters, continuing to write to her family up until the first week of May.

Growing up with a love of music and song, she was an active member of the choir during the years she made Fairfax United Methodist Church her church home.

Always loving, encouraging, supporting, and caring, Wilma found her deepest pleasures and her greatest sense of pride in her family: Her father, Merwin, and sister, Marna; her four children, Patrick, Jr. (and Teresa) Phelan; Thomas Phelan, Sr. (and Mary Sapp Phelan, divorced); Theresa (and Robert) Jordana; Marianne (and Walter) Stewart; 12 grandchildren, Patrick, III (deceased) (and Elizabeth) Phelan; Teresa (and Jeremy) Holmberg; Heidi M. Phelan; Kiko (and Jeannie) Phelan; Rachel (and Jeremy) Jones; Joseph C. Phelan; Thomas, Jr. (and Rebecca) Phelan; Douglas (and Holly) Phelan; James (and Katerina) Jordana; Melissa Jordana; Walter Stewart (and Sarah Griffin); and Dustin Stewart; 22 great-grandchildren, Elijah, Chloe, Ethan, Sadie, Violet; Kiko, Olivia, Ayden, Maddox; Phoebe, Hannah, Lillie, Brandon, Summer; Mistaya; Calvin; Lincoln, Reese, Miles; Lukas, Melanie; and one-month-old Abigail; her sister's children; all of her extended family; and her treasured friends.

Wilma's sister, Marna, predeceased her by three months.

Donation to: Pocahontas Gardens and Museum, P.O. Box 675, Gloucester VA 23061, is a fitting memorial.