Phyllis Eileen Jordan

Lake Forest Park, Wa.

Phyllis was married to her lifelong sweetheart, William W. Jordan since November,1946. They wed at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Ballard, Seattle, Wa. She met him at the age of 13 while roller skating at the Ridge Rink. When he came back from WWII they married a year later. Bill preceded her in death on May 7, 2002.

She was born to Wallace Leahy Harmon and Freda H. C. Harmon. She was preceded

in death by her beloved sister, Shirley (Dale) Hensley, and her brothers, Wallace “Bud” (Toni) Harmon and Carvel (Josephine) George.

Phyllis lived all her life in Seattle and Lake Forest Park, graduating from Ballard

High School.

Her surviving children are: William W. Jordan (Debra), Jennifer Bernard (Woody), Rod Jordan, Matthew Jordan (Lori) and Philip Jordan. There are 8 grandchildren and 3

great grandchildren.

Phyllis was an extremely talented woman. Helping her husband build their home

of 64 years in Lake Forest Park, she was also a great cook, seamstress, skilled in knitting, crocheting, embroidery, an avid flower and vegetable gardener,

loved music, reading history, boating, camping, playing pinochle, traveling and raising her family. Phyllis will be missed by all. She loved life and loved her family.

She was a Christian and converted to Catholicism in 1945. Rest in the Peace of

the Lord dear Mama.

Funeral Service will be April 6, 2018 at St. Mark’s Catholic Church, Shoreline, Wa.

10:00 am Viewing, 10:30 Rosary, 11:00 Liturgy of the Word followed by a burial

at Acacia Memorial Park, 14951 Bothell Way, NE, Seattle, Wa. Following that

will be a Celebration of Her Life at the family home, Lake Forest Park. at 1:00 pm.

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Eulogy

Dear Family and Friends,

How to eulogize someone so near and dear to us? It’s hard to convey the beauty of someone’s soul in words. As the daughter, I was privileged to get up close and personal with my mom, Phyllis. Yet I am sure I can say for all of us that she was a remarkable and intelligent woman, a loving wife, mother, aunt, grandmother and friend to many.

Phyllis came from humble beginnings. She had many qualities that we all strive for. Compassion and understanding, courage and unconditional love for her family, boundless energy, curiosity and appreciation for life. This poem which she loved says it all:

By Cecil Alexander: 1848

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful:

The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,

Each little bird that sings,

He made their glowing colors,

He made their tiny wings.

The rich man in his castle,

The poor man at his gate,

He made them, high or lowly,

And ordered their estate.

The purple headed mountains,

The river running by,

The sunset and the morning

That brightens up the sky.

The cold wind in the winter,

The pleasant summer sun,

The ripe fruits in the garden,

He made them every one.

The tall trees in the greenwood,

The meadows where we play,

The rushes by the water,

To gather every day.

He gave us eyes to see them,

And lips that we might tell

How great is God Almighty,

Who has made all things well.

Yes, she had a profound appreciation for life. Look around her house any day and you would see all the“starts” she had going in little glasses of water. She placed great reverence on a small seed as she planted it in the dirt, knowing it contained the magic of life and would provide abundant food or beautiful flowers for our enjoyment. Helping her weed was a great chore and yet it was if we stuck gold if she

found a small 1 inch tree growing. She would carefully scoop it up and put in a little pot and soon others would join it. You would someday receive a pot of these little trees now to transplant in your yard or woods. Of course we all are witness to the giant redwood growing in the yard. Mom and Dad brought that back in a coffee can from, you guessed it, the Redwood Forest.

No matter where our travels took us, if there were flowers going to seed we had to gather them. Envelopes of little precious seeds. Sometimes wadded up kleenex served as the container for those dried little goodies. You’d find them in your pockets later.

When she planted a garden, there was plenty for all. Flats of germinated plants were in abundance. Never had to buy “starts” for the garden because you could count on Mom to supply you. Her gardening was a passion and a joy and we all learned from her.

From Gardening to the Kitchen.

Wow, do you recall the huge feasts that came out of the small kitchen!! There was mom planning, reading, prepping, experimenting, having a great time. A true wizard in the kitchen.

We have inherited I think one of the largest personal libraries of cookbooks. From all over the world, she was interested in the “history” of the food from that region. Why they used the spices they did and what food was “known” for that area of the world. No one can forget the big parties, Christmas especially, Thanksgiving, Easter, numerous birthdays and reasons to celebrate LIFE. Pie after Pie came out of that kitchen. Oh remember the cookies, stacked up in tins in the freezer for the Holidays?

When we were children, she always had dinner on the table at 5pm. The anticipated hour when Dad would come in the door from work and wrestle us kids ”pig pile” on the living room floor while she put the final touches on the meal. Think about the food planning that went into all our family vacations. Feeding 7 people on the road... it’s daunting. Boating trips, hiking trips, car trips, camping trips, she was the master planner. Yes, she was behind the scene and she did it all and it looked so seamlessly easy.

My mother was Master and Commander of the Home.

Getting five children out the door to school on time is an amazing task. And to make matters more difficult, those small white shirts we wore, needed ironing! Those white saddle shoes I wore had to be “white”!! Yes uniforms is what we wore to Saint Marks, sometimes a curse, sometimes a blessing. And the rows of bread all lined up eagerly awaiting their swath of mayonaise, bologne and lettuce... we all had homemade lunches daily...

Remember the injured animals she nursed back to health? The little robin that had a broken wing. Dad made a splint and mom fed it from a syringe full of mushed up worms she would gather from the yard. Rabbits, birds, stray dogs and cats were all treated well at the Jordan Household. The time they had to do surgery on a bird that had a bb gun pellet in its chest. Well, mom said the operation was a success but the patient died! We learned to live with life and death from nature all around us. Who would go to all this trouble?... people who believed in the precious sanctity of LIFE!

She hung the clothes out to dry on a clothesline! As long as it wasn’t raining, we weren’t using the dryer... saving money and having “fresh smelling sheets” was the reward.

Sewing all my clothes, my dolls’ clothes... making quilts for the granddaughters, knitting, crocheting, and embroidery,

Teaching herself piano as a child. Her parents couldn’t afford lessons so her father taught her to

play by “ear “alone. Mother was extremely talented in numerous ways.

Mom and Dad loved to travel. She saw the sights of FIJI, Tahiti, Guam, Hawaii, Central America, Mexico, Alaska and the Bahamas. Boating in the San Juans was such a wonderful family outing. We crabbed, fished and camped.

The family was our mom and dad’s priority and they did it so well. Our memories will be with us till we depart and hopefully we will have passed on such beauty to our children.

She rose the occasions and showed us her bravery and courage. The latter part of her life was filled with abundant emotional and physical hardships. Dad dying 16 years ago was the greatest. What kept her going? Her love of life and family? Her strength derived from her Catholic faith and prayer? With numerous surgeries... 2 hip replacements, a knee replacement, another surgery that failed to save her leg and then the amputation... oh my, that was also a big one and then the next five years of copious challenges.

We will forever treasure our time spent with her and helping her to face these difficulties. We can say “we were there for her”. This is what “family” is about... this is what our parents gave us. Sticking it out thru the tough times and supporting each other. Knowing that LOVE conquers all and we have Jesus by our side.

I didn’t always appreciate my parents or my Catholic upbringing but I NOW realize that the greatest gift of all from my parents is our Catholic faith. We have this “other layer” of support, unconditional love and grace that God gives to each and every one of his creations. We are Children of God and all we simply have to do is ask and “we shall receive”, open our hearts and let him in... you make the effort and you are changed forever, rewarded beyond measure!

When I was with her , mom and I prayed every night before bed and mentioned our special intentions for all those in need. She was given the Last Rites by Fr. Cal Christensen from St. Pius parish two days before she died. Anointed and prayed over. A beautiful and holy event. A Good Death.

“For it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.”

Amen.

~ Jennifer Bernard