She was the fourth of seven children born to Samuel David & Mary Louisa (Purdin) Anderson. She graduated from Humansville High School in 1947. After high school, Phyllis moved to Kansas City and got a job as a seasonal order filler for Hallmark Cards, where she worked for approximately 10 years before quitting to become a homemaker and stay-at-home mom.
On February 9, 1963, she wed Len Rolin Howard at the Westport Presbyterian Church in Kansas City, Missouri. To this union one daughter was born: Cindy Howard.
Phyllis was an excellent seamstress and worked from home sewing clothes and doing alterations for others. She also sewed patches on letterman jackets for Summit Sports in Lee’s Summit for several years.
Phyllis was a member of The Summit Church, attending services up until a couple of months before her death. Phyllis enjoyed the outdoors and nature. She loved to walk, tend her garden and flower beds and bird watch. Phyllis also loved to travel – visiting 32 of the 50 states before her death.
Phyllis was proceeded in death by her parents, husband Rolin Howard in 2004, and siblings Rolla Anderson, Virginia Warren, Eugenia Hale, Marcene Steffens, Irene Tinsley and Sue Garretson and their respective spouses. She is survived by her daughter, Cindy Howard, of Lee’s Summit, and several nieces, nephews and extended family members and friends.
Visitation will be at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, June 27, at The Summit Church, 3381 NW Chipman Road, Lee's Summit, MO 64081. A Celebration of Life will follow at 11:00 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be made to the Alzheimer’s Association of Kansas City, 3846 West 75th Street, Prairie Village, Kansas 66208. www.alz.org/kansascity
