Phyllis Waller

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Oct. 18, 1917-June 22, 2009

MARSHALL - A memorial gathering for Phyllis Hermoine Waller, 91, will be at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at First Lutheran Church in Marshall. Burial will follow at the Marshall Cemetery. Memorials preferred to the First Lutheran Church Choir of Marshall, Mount Olivet Careview Home of Minneapolis or a charity of your choice.

She died Monday, June 22, 2009, at the Mount Olivet Careview Home in Minneapolis. She formerly lived at 812 Boxelder St. in Marshall.

Phyllis was born Oct. 18, 1917, to Gertrude Marie (Elms) and Clarence Earl Wiley in Ortonville. She attended Ortonville Public Schools where she was an excellent student and active in music, drama, and basketball. After graduation in 1935, Phyllis earned her degree in elementary education at Minnesota State Teachers College in Moorhead. She taught in several Minnesota communities before coming to Marshall where she taught at the elementary school and at Holy Redeemer.

Phyllis and Marshall art teacher Julian Waller were married Aug. 19, 1944. This union was blessed with three children: Nancy, Steve, and Craig. Phyllis also was actively involved at First Lutheran Church where she sang in the choir and helped with quilt-making. Her community activities included study club, bridge club, cancer society, dancing club, and faculty wives. Phyllis was an excellent cook, and we all remember her delicious potato salad! She and Jules both enjoyed golfing and traveling including a trip to Norway.

Phyllis will be sadly missed by her family and friends. She was a wonderful and loving grandmother to her eight grandchildren and spent many special times with all of them. Being with her family was her most cherished activity. She especially loved the times that she and Jules spent with everyone at the cabin in Shell Lake, Wis.

Survivors include her daughter Nancy (and Steve) Grundahl of Minneapolis and their family: Randi (and Rick) Rexroth of Minneapolis and Leif (and Tanya) Grundahl of Minneapolis and great-grandson, Jackson; Steve (and Mary) Waller of La Crescent, and their family: Andrew (and Emily) Waller of Stillwater and great-grandchildren, Anna and Erik, Mark Waller (and Brigitte Mussack) of Minneapolis, and Dan Waller of St. Louis Park; and Craig (and Rebecca) Waller of Eden Prairie and their family: Kirk, Laura, and Sarah; sister Jeanne Schmidt of Fallbrook, Calif.; sister-in-law LaVerne Wiley of Ortonville; as well as many nieces and nephews.

Phyllis was preceded in death by her husband, Jules; her parents; her brother Francis; and her great-grandson, Eli Stephen Grundahl.