Phyllis Schramm Runkel
Phyllis Ione Schramm Runkel, 80, most recently of Charlotte, NC, died unexpectedly on Friday, April 8, 2011, while visiting family in Houston, TX. She was born at home on July 4, 1930, in Marietta Township, Ohio, to Neely W. and Mary Drusilla Schramm. She attended the Marietta Township School at Sand Hill and Marietta High School, from which she graduated in 1948. Phyllis was a beloved daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and aunt, and a friend to many.
Growing up on the family farm, Phyllis worked side-by-side with her dad and three brothers at the grueling tasks of vegetable farming. She watched over her brothers and cooked for them from an early age after her mother returned to teaching school in Newport, OH. Her nurturing spirit and culinary skills served Phyllis well in raising six sons, as did the ability to persevere in spite of her brothers’ incessant teasing (although, on occasion, she was able to turn the tables on them). She shared a wry sense of humor with her brothers, which became known within the family as “Schramm humor.”
Phyllis attended Marietta College, where she joined the Chi Omega sorority, and later received an Associates Degree from the Finger Lakes Community College in Canandaigua, NY. She married James A. Runkel, then of Marietta, on August 28, 1949, in the old Valley Baptist Church on Newport Pike. They remained married for over 40 years and lived in such places as Longmont, CO; Tucson, AZ; San Bernardino, CA; Oakwood, OH; Bloomington, IN; Rotterdam, Loudonville, and Canandaigua, NY; and Greensboro, NC.
Phyllis kept a lively and loving home for her family and was known for, among many other things, her gentle nature, calm demeanor, beautiful smile, faith in God, and the ability to cook for eight or more and have everything come out hot, delicious, and at the same time. She never held a grudge, and always looked for the best in people. She could, and frequently did, talk at great length with everyone she met (she may still be telling St. Peter about her children and grandchildren). This trait helped her make and keep friends easily and she remained in touch throughout her life with several generations of the extended Schramm and Runkel families, as well as neighbors and other friends from every place she ever lived. Phyllis truly lived for her family in every way. She was always there to give her boys a warm hug, to bandage a scraped knee, or to offer words of encouragement when they got discouraged.
Phyllis loved the TV show Jeopardy and was a lifelong weather-watcher, ready with a scarf for the wind and her trusty umbrella even when there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. She was also a fan of As the World Turns and The Guiding Light for more than 50 years, and volunteered with various community groups in the many places she called home, including Welcome Wagon, her local church, and the American Field Service (AFS), which began as an ambulance corps in World War I and is now one of the oldest international student exchange services in the world. She served as President of the Canandaigua AFS chapter and, along with her husband, as host parents of a British student who became like a seventh son to her and with whom she stayed in close contact for the rest of her life.
Once her boys were grown and having families of their own, Phyllis traveled frequently to visit and to lend her prodigious love and skills as a mother and grandmother in response to the births, birthdays, illnesses, graduations, and varied successes of her ten grandchildren around the country. Several times she moved to be closer to her children and grandchildren to provide even more direct support, which led her to live in Houston for a period of time to help as a granddaughter overcame leukemia. She moved back to Canandaigua for several years, and also lived in Clifton Park, NY, and, eventually, Charlotte.
She will be fondly remembered by her grandchildren for attending hundreds of their athletic events and other activities (she was known as “Good Luck Grandma”), faithfully remembering their birthdays, and snapping countless pictures with her ever-present camera. Phyllis was also a loving “mom” to Lexy, the family dog, and “grandma” to Copper, both of whom she showered with affection, praise and the occasional hidden treat from the dinner table.
Nothing made Phyllis happier than to be with as many family members as possible at the holidays or other gatherings, and her life was celebrated by almost all of her extended family and many friends at an 80th birthday celebration in June 2010 in Charlotte. A special highlight was a surprise visit to see “mum” by her AFS son, Adrian Praag, who now lives in Portugal with his family.
Survivors include Phyllis’ brothers, Paul and his wife Marjorie, of Houston, TX; Carlton and his wife Carol, of Marietta, OH; and Allan and his wife Maggie, of Oneonta, NY; her sons, Jay and his wife Susan, of Glenville, NY; Gregory and his wife Jeanne Nivard, of Queensbury, NY; Douglas and his companion Mary Roberts, of Houston, TX; Christopher and his wife Elaine, of Burke, VA; Brian, of Redwood City, CA, and Charlotte, NC; and Philip and his wife Pam, of Waxhaw, NC; her grandchildren Jennifer (husband Adam McNeill), Scott, Andrew, Collin, Laura, Matthew, Nick, Corey, Ben, and Jack; and several generations of cousins, nephews, nieces, and in-laws.
The family will receive friends at the McClure-Schafer-Lankford Funeral Home, 314 Fourth Street, Marietta, OH 45750, from 2:00-4:00 and 6:00-8:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 21. The funeral will be held on Friday, April 22, 11:00 a.m., at Valley View Baptist Church, 309 Longacre Street, Reno, OH 45773, with burial near her parents immediately following at East Lawn Memorial Park, 27880 State Route 7, Marietta, OH 45750. The Valley View Baptist Church will host a reception following burial.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations be made in her name to either the American Field Service at AFS-USA, Inc., Office of Development, One Whitehall Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10004, www.afsusa.org/donate/tributes-and-memorials/; or The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, either through a local chapter or at www.lls.org/#/waystohelp/donate/.