Phyllis Eileen Dalziel
Phyllis Eileen Dalziel
Phyllis Eileen Dalziel
September 03, 1929 – June 14, 2019
What Cheer, Iowa | Age 89
Phyllis Dalziel, 89, of What Cheer, died Friday, June 14, 2019 at the Manor House Care Center in Sigourney. Phyllis Eileen Stephen, daughter of Herbert Nash Stephen and Eva Irene Hyatt was born on September 3, 1929 in New Sharon, Iowa.
Phyllis attended New Sharon High School and played on the girls’ basketball team.
Phyllis was united in marriage to Richard Gillett Dalziel in Kirksville, MO on December 30, 1948.
The young couple moved in with Richard’s parents, William and Gertrude Gillett Dalziel on the Gillett farm located one half mile west of What Cheer. A year later, they became the parents of their first son, James. A short time later, they moved to Richard’s Great Grandparent’s (Tom and Dicey Heston) farm located one and a half miles straight east of his parent’s farm. In time, they saw their family increase with another son, Rodney and three daughters, Sandra, Debra and Sharon, who they would raise on this farm and would continue to live for the rest of their lives.
Life on the farm was not easy. No running water, no indoor plumbing, no central heating system and very little insultation in an old clapboard house built in the 1880’s made every day living a struggle to say the least. With Richard working at the What Cheer Clay Products on the third shift, Phyllis raised her young family of five kids and also did most of the daily chores of taking care of the livestock, which included raising a few hogs, some milk cows with calves, and a few chickens. Other exotic animals roaming the farmstead included bantam chickens, goats, ducks, geese, and guinea fowl.
The old homestead house was finally torn down by Sandy’s husband (John George) and replaced in 1970 when they built a new house that would have running water, indoor plumbing, and a forced air furnace that would heat and cool the new home. Richard and Phyllis also built a large fish pond that they stocked with several kinds of fish where they would spend hours fishing.
By 1969, with some of the children gone and the others in high school, Phyllis started working for Kingsbury Homes in Sigourney and continued her work there until it closed in 1980. She worked for a short time at the McCurdy Seed Company plant in Fremont sorting seed corn during the fall, also worked in housekeeping at the University of Iowa Hospitals in Iowa City for several years and as a part-time matron for the Keokuk County Sheriff’s Office.
Phyllis was a member of the What Cheer Christian Church and helped in the kitchen for years preparing meals for the What Cheer Lions Club. Her homemade egg noodles and strawberry pie were well known throughout the area. Phyllis also enjoyed going to the casino with her daughters to gamble a little and eat at the buffet.
Phyllis is survived by five children: James (& Rita) Dalziel, Rodney Dalziel, Sandra George, Debra (& Larry) Swink, and Sharon (& Kenneth) Mercer; eight grandchildren; nineteen great grandchildren; a sister, Shirley (& Dennis) Metzer; a sister-in-law, Sheryll (& Doug) Clark; and several nieces and nephews.
She is preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Richard; three brothers: Kenneth, Gerald, and Keith Stephen; two sisters, Betty and Nina; and a son-in-law, John Robert George.
Funeral services will begin at 11:00 am on Tuesday, June 18, 2019 at the Holland-Coble Funeral Home in What Cheer.
Burial will be in the Highland Cemetery at What Cheer.
Visitation will be held 1 hour prior to the service.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the What Cheer Christian Church or to Essence of Life Hospice.
