Phyllis Wahl Keith, 77, passed away on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2014, at Summit Healthcare Regional Medical Center in Show Low following a lingering illness. A visitation was planned from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 14, at Owens Livingston Mortuary-Heritage Chapel, 84 E. 19th South in Snowflake. The funeral service will begin at 10 o’clock this morning (Oct. 15) at the Love Lake Chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 700 E. Love Lake Road in Taylor. Additional visitation will be held one hour prior to the service. The concluding service and interment will immediately follow at the Pinedale Cemetery.
She was born on a Wednesday, July 28, 1937, in Pinedale to the late Albert Russell and Diana May (Jackson) Wahl.
Phyllis was a graduate, and the salutatorian, from Snowflake High School with the Class of 1955.
A few short months later, on Sept. 9, 1955, Phyllis married her forever sweetheart, Johnnie Keith, in the Mesa Temple of the LDS church. Last month, the couple celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary together.
Phyllis knew the importance of having a good education. She was brilliant in her thinking and received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of New Mexico. While there, she minored in English.
She also knew the value of hard work. Hers was a house of order. She was a devoted wife and a loving mother to her family. Throughout her married life, Phyllis not only raised two children to become respectable and responsible adults, she also worked in managerial capacities for different businesses in the White Mountains. She worked many years for Hall Motors (which later became Darner Motors) in Show Low as an office manager and bookkeeper. She later worked with Kim Mattice at his accounting office in Pinetop. She finished her professional working career at Western Grade in Show Low. Wherever she hung her hat, Phyllis was well liked by everyone, and greeted all with a warm and gentle smile.
When she wasn’t working, Phyllis enjoyed spending time with her ever-growing family.
She will always be remembered for her love of sports. She loved watching football, baseball and basketball and was a season ticket owner for many years.
Phyllis was also blessed with a lifetime love of music. She learned to play the piano at a very young age. In fact, at the tender age of 7, Phyllis played the piano for her church family in the Pinedale Ward of the LDS church. Over the past 70 years, she shared her talents with hundreds and thousands of people, playing the piano and organ at countless funerals and weddings and other church services. Phyllis also had the privilege to be one of the organists at the Snowflake Temple and considered that to be a tremendous blessing in her life.
Survivors include her husband, Johnnie Keith of Taylor; two children, Kenny (Shawn) Keith of Lakeside and Julene (Mark) Muder of Show Low; four grandchildren, Chris (Kaylee) Muder of Show Low, Shelly (Nic) Finch of St. Johns, Brian Muder of Phoenix and Danny Keith of Lakeside; four great-grandchildren, Brooklee Finch, Brinley Finch, Kannon Keith and Rylie Muder; and two brothers, Robert (Debbie) Wahl of Show Low and Steve (Karen) Wahl of Pinedale.
Along with her parents, Phyllis was preceded in death by a brother, Gordon Wahl, and a sister, Carma Jarrett.
