Phyllis Cook Frost

Phyllis Cook Frost died peacefully at the age of 98 on September 7, 2021. Phyllis Mae was born in her grandmother’s house in Colchester VT on July 19, 1923, to Henry Bushnell Cook and Grace Landon Cook. She grew up on a farm in Underhill VT. She also loved riding horses, singing to the cows and round dancing at the Henhouse dance hall. She loved night skiing with her older brother on Mt. Mansfield and caring for and playing with her three younger sisters, all later known as the four fabulous Cook sisters. They remained close as adults and spent time in the summers playing games, being silly and laughing… a lot. She was predeceased by her dear brother Kenneth and her sweet sister Beverly Amblo. She is survived by her other two wonderful sisters, Shirley Lascelles and June Stowe, both of Burlington VT.

After high school she worked in the newsroom at the Burlington Free Press during the war. She was one of the first teletype operators and was quickly promoted to supervisor. It was not easy being a woman in a male-dominated business, but she was tough. She went on to get married and have 6 children. They moved a lot, but finally settled in Scituate, MA. Once her children were grown she went back to the newspaper business and worked at the Scituate Mirror and learned the latest technology, word processing.

Her love for the Bruins and the Red Sox ran deep. She could often be heard screaming at the television from the other end of the house. She had a wicked sense of humor and enjoyed pranking us on April Fool’s Day. She’d get us early in the morning before we realized what day it was. Mostly though, she loved her family, Sunday dinners, and spending as much time as she could with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Always patient and kind, she provided them with a love of learning.

She had wanted to travel her whole life and finally got the chance. She and her sister Shirley went to many places out West, to New Orleans and on an Alaskan cruise.

She was such an empathetic and kind-hearted person, always sticking up for the underdog. She took on the bullies on the playground when she was young and thought herself the protector of the less able-bodied, quieter residents in the memory care unit.

Phyllis is predeceased by her daughter Deborah and her son-in-law John Murphy. She is survived by her children and their spouses: Linda Murphy of Scituate MA, James Frost and Marita Boyle of Marshfield MA, Sally and Thomas McCarthy of Scituate, MA, Daniel and Lesley (Ross) of Bear, DE and Scott and Carolyn (Holmes) of Naples, FL.

She had 14 grandchildren, Joshua Thomas, Jennifer Sunnerberg, Natalie and Evan Frost, Cole and Jake McCarthy, Matthew, Chris and Steven Frost, Erica Robinson, Alyssa, Kacie and Ryan Frost. She also had 7 great-grandchildren: Darien, Emma, Samantha, and Daniel, Litos, Lily and Lylah. She also leaves many loving nieces and nephews.

At this time services are private.

Phyllis was incredibly generous over the years with donations to many organizations close to her heart. If you would like to donate, in lieu of flowers, please send to Santa Fe Indian School, PO Box 5340, Santa FE, NM 87505 or to Smile Train www.smiletrain.org