Phyllis was born on September 30, 1945 in Waterloo, Iowa to Oliver George and Ruth (Hyde) Coon. In high school, Phyllis began her lifelong love for writing poetry. She graduated from Cedar Falls High School in 1963 and attended the University of Iowa, graduating with a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing in 1967.
She moved to the Kansas City area in 1976. Phyllis worked in the mental health field as a mental health nurse for 16 years. Because she wanted to continue to help people, she received her training as a massage therapist in 1995. She worked in that capacity until 2016. Upon retiring she enjoyed having more time for knitting and poetry which included knitting blankets for the “Linus Project – Providing Security thru Blankets”.
Phyllis was preceded in death by her parents Oliver George Coon and Ruth Smith.
She is survived by her daughter Tiffany Blew and her husband Hal Johnson, grandsons Dexter and Callum Johnson, sisters Luana (Jim) King, Texas; Laurene (Bob) Saathoff, Iowa; Linda Holt, Iowa; Tammy (Kenny) Scott, Iowa and a brother Bill (Tami) Smith. She also leaves behind many nieces and nephews.
A visitation will take place from 6:00pm to 8:00pm on Friday, April 20 at Mt. Moriah, Newcomer & Freeman Funeral Home, 10507 Holmes Road, Kansas City, Missouri. A Memorial Service will be held at 4:00pm on Saturday, April 21 at the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made in Phyllis’ name to any of these fine organizations:
Harvesters, 3801 Topping Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri 64129; (816) 929-3000; https://my.harvesters.org/
Turning Point (Kansas University), 8900 State Line Road, Suite 240, Leawood, Kansas 66206
(913) 574-0900; http://www.turningpointkc.org/
Cancer Action Network of the American Cancer Society, 555 11th Street, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20004; (202) 661-5700; https://www.acscan.org/
