On Friday August 18th after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease, our loving mother Eunice joined her parents Carl and June Toles, and her daughter Holly in heaven. She was 78. She is survived by her two older sisters Louise & Wanda, her most beloved husband Allan, her children Steven, Kurtis, Teresa, Summer, and Miklos, and six grandchildren Koreena, Andrew, Jessica, Alec, Wyatt, and Arianna.
Eunice found her passion for caring for disabled children in 1973 when she took in her first child. Over the next 48 years she was mother to 78 disabled foster children.
Eunice was a strong advocate for children’s rights and spent several years lobbying in Salem for legislation to protect those under the custody of the state. She was instrumental in passing two laws creating a citizen oversight committee and another that requires judicial review of children who are wards of the state. Then in 2006 she traveled to Thailand and started a fund raising campaign to rescue orphaned children fleeing the human cruelty by the military junta in Myanmar (Burma). Along with the others involved, they found homes for 57 refugee children.
Gifts of memoriam can be sent to the foundation she formed to assist people with disabilities; Make It Light, PO 1041 Boring, Oregon 97009
Eunice’s interment was at Skyline Memorial Gardens under a tree with an expansive view of the valley filled with the children she spent a lifetime caring for.
A Celebration of Life will be held for Eunice Marie Phillipi on October 13th at 1pm. Location Skyline Memorial Gardens 4401 NW Skyline Blvd. Portland Oregon 97229
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.skylinememorialgardens.com for the Phillipi family.
