Phyllis Clark Webb

Phyllis Clark Webb, age 90, died October 3, 2016. Born in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine on November 25, 1925, she was a New England girl. A musician as soon as she could reach the piano, she graduated from Wellesley and became a music teacher, working in a variety of settings including a girl’s juvenile facility. The lure of the stage led her to New York City where she appeared on stage Off-Off Broadway and accompanied dancers at Carnegie Hall. She wanted to attend Norman Vincent Peale’s church, but her Aunt Zaida told her to visit the church where her friend was pastor. To please her aunt, she went. One of the ushers was a handsome WWII veteran from Pennsylvania, William Harlow Webb. She never heard Norman Vincent Peale, and four months later she eloped with the love of her life. They were married 48 years before his death in 1999. They started life in a walk up apartment in Yonkers, NY where Richard was born.

Wanting to work for a car company led them to Detroit in the mid-50s and Michigan became their home. They joined Grosse Pointe Memorial Church in 1958, just before the second of their five children was born – Sally, soon followed by Bonnie, Bradford and Philip. Phyllis and Bill were active in the church, taking care of the Toddler room for almost 20 years. Phyllis also served as an Elder, on several committees, and as Carillonist for over 30 years. Music was always central to her life. She was an accompanist for choirs, Sunday school classes, school musicals and countless instrumentalists at Solo and Ensemble festivals. She was active in Band Parents and the PTA for over 20 years.

Music was always central to her life, and to the life of her family. All 5 children played instruments, as do most of her grandchildren. In order to encourage the neighborhood children to keep playing over the summer, she would write arrangements of simple songs so all the kids, on all the different instruments, could be an elementary “band”, with her piano accompaniment making it sound like actual music. We all took it for granted that everyone’s mom could do that. Only as adults did we realize how rare her gift was.

Phyllis and Bill attended every concert, play and dance recital that their children or grandchildren were in. That included countless high school and college football games, making the walk to the stadium with the MSU Marching Band for 9 seasons! Mom was the accompanist for several high school musicals.

She continued to attend plays, concerts and football games for her grandchildren. Just two weeks ago she was at a high school football game to watch her grandson on the drumline – one of 3 percussionists among her children and grandchildren. She introduced her grandchildren to opera, taking all of them to performances of Detroit Opera Theatre. She tried to watch Oscar nominated films and emailed paragraph reviews to her family.

In the 1980s, Grosse Pointe Memorial allowed adults to take lessons on the Carillon and Phyllis found a new love. She passed her recital in 1986 and became a member of the Guild of Carillonneurs. She has been carillonist at Grosse Pointe Memorial and, during the winter months, Church of the Ascension in Clearwater, Florida. She has played dozens of carillons in the US and around the world. She has written and arranged pieces for the carillon and shared them with her fellow artists.

Phyllis and Bill shared a love of travel and education. Each summer the family pulled a pop up trailer for weeks around the US. After Bill’s retirement, they added European travel to their itinerary, attending several international carillon conferences. After his death, she continued to travel with grandchildren as her companions for several European conferences and voyages. Phyllis has been to all 50 states and two dozen countries in Europe and Central America.

Her travels strengthened her love for our country. A member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, she traced her ancestry to three Revolutionary War patriots and, perhaps, a French and Indian War participant. She has performed patriotic music at state and national DAR events.

Her life was not without trials. The deaths of her son, Brad in 1983, and her husband, Bill in 1999 were battles she faced with faith. After a mastectomy 15 years ago, she was hesitant to tell her story as a cancer survivor because she thought she didn’t suffer enough. Finally agreeing to talk to a local paper, her story of traveling to Europe six months after surgery was inspirational.

Everyone who has known Phyllis was touched by her music, her energy, her joy. Family is central to who she was. She was the person who visited family members all around the country. As she said, don’t wait for the funeral. Visit people while they are alive. And she did.

Phyllis turned 90 last year, but she didn’t want people to know. She’d let them guess, and no one guessed over 80. Until her last few weeks, she was driving, swimming, climbing stairs, sending emails. She was a strong, independent woman who inspired family and friends to follow their passions.