Phyllis L Hamlin

Phyllis Lucine Nelson Hamlin, age 93, went to be with her Savior on Sunday, January 8, at Whitewater, Kansas. Phyllis was born on Wednesday, November 20, 1929 in Argonia, Kansas, the daughter of Thomas and Lena Cochran Nelson. She had a sister, Juanita, and a brother, Merle James.
Phyllis’s dad was a teacher and was always looking for a better job or one with better salary. So, the family moved often. As Phyllis grew up she lived in 12 different towns. After graduating from Fredonia High School, her family moved to Sterling. There Phyllis worked at a drug store and an insurance office. In the spring of 1948, Phyllis went to Garden City to visit her sister. Juanita was the secretary for the Christian Church. Phyllis decided to move to Garden City and live with her sister. She worked as a secretary at Swift & Company. Here she met her future husband, Harold.
Harold and Phyllis were married on June 11, 1950 at Garden City, KS. They spent the next year at Manhattan while Harold finished his college degree in education. Phyllis was a secretary for a professor on campus. Harold’s teaching career moved them to Clifton, Kansas, Stockton, California, back to Clifton, then to El Dorado, Kansas.
Phyllis became a homemaker and stay at home mother to Gerry, Kathy, and LouAnn. During this time she had many interests. Phyllis was a wonderful seamstress and cook. She made the best pies! Phyllis had a beautiful singing voice and sang in a church choir in Garden City, Clifton, and El Dorado. She enjoyed singing with a group from Washington Elementary School called “The Mother Singers”. Phyllis directed the children’s choir at the First Christian Church. She enjoyed getting together each month with Faculty Dames. In 1965 she went to work as a secretary at the law office of Ervin Grant. She began work earning $1.00 an hour. When she retired in 1989 she was earning $6.50 an hour. After retirement, Phyllis helped Harold research genealogy of the Hamlin family. They each wrote their life story which included pedigree charts of ancestors. Harold and Phyllis enjoyed several trips during their retirement years. They also served others by delivering Meals on Wheels for several years. She and Harold kept fit by walking 2 ½ miles each weekday.
Phyllis was preceded in death by her parents, brother, sister, and her husband. She is survived by her sister- in-law Donna Rogene Brown of Kingman, KS, her son Gerry (Connie) of El Dorado, her daughter Kathy (Scott) of Potwin, her daughter LouAnn of Ashland, Oregon. She has seven grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.
Phyllis was a loving, caring wife and mother. When Kathy visited her mom in the nursing home and told her she loved her, mom’s reply was always, “I love you more!”
Service for Phyllis will be held Friday January, 13 at Bella Vista Cemetery, at 2 PM. You can sign her book online at https://www.carlsonkirbymorris.com

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