Phyllis Asmussen |
| Posted 2009-11-14 by Judy Wight Branson |
| The Camp Verde Bugle, Camp Verde, Arizona Thursday, November 05, 2009 Phyllis Asmussen, for 26 years a resident of Sedona, died 29 October 2009 following a stroke 10 days earlier. She would have been 93 on Christmas Day and newly a great-grandmother. She was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1916 and worked for many years as a teacher in the Richfield school system, Minnesota. Phyllis had planned to play a piano solo at her granddaughter's forthcoming wedding and she was looking forward to a duplicate bridge tournament with her partner Cookie. The latest Joan Didion sits by her reading chair. Still, despite the sadness all in the family feel, her's was a hugely satisfying life and it ended quickly and with little suffering. Phyllis enjoyed an advantaged childhood and the adoration of her family. Men sought her out all her life; she was a looker. These may help explain why she so richly enjoyed being alive. Her personal evolution from a Nebraska prairie girl to a staunch Unitarian and free-thinker would take much longer to relate than we have time for here. One mark of her evolution came to us in her living will, which is completely clear about her wishes with respect to death. She frequently reminded us that she would not tolerate being artificially kept alive in a hospital bed if the prospects for recovery were slight. Her immediate family includes three sons, seven exceptional grandchildren, and the great-grandchild to come. Two siblings, Patricia Dickeson and John Lee Bauman survive her. Two of the men in her life are our father, Gene Asmussen, dead now over a decade, and her long time friend and late companion, Ray Bruland, gone since October 2008. Cookie Carpenter, her companion of the last years, Phyllis thought of as family, as do we. We love her, we miss her spirit and generosity and we are grateful for her marvelous life and gentle end. A memorial service begins at 2:30 p.m. Nov. 8, 2009 at the Unitarian Universalist meeting site, the Elks Lodge on Airport Road, Sedona. Contributions may be directed to Amnesty International USA, Member Services, 5 Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10001 or www.amnestyusa.org in her name. An online guestbook is available at www.westcottfuneralhome.com Information provided by survivors. |
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