Phyllis E. Paradise Phyllis E. Paradise of Winslow, peacefully passed away surrounded by family on July 2, 2020, at the age of 98. Due to Covid 19, there will be no service at this time. Phyllis was born on Feb. 13, 1922, in Mt. Ida, Wisc., to Wesley and Aurelia Walker. Her childhood consisted of working on the family dairy farm during the trials of the Great Depression. As the oldest of four girls, she took the responsibility of the outside chores milking cows, helping load hay and driving the horses. Phyllis graduated from high school in 1939 at the age of 17 with the aspiration of becoming a nurse. A bit too young at the time, she had to wait another year before Methodist-Kahler School of Nursing in Rochester, Minn., accepted her application. Phyllis was forever proud to be a part of this nursing program as they trained at the famous Mayo Clinic. She embarked on her nursing career in 1943, and over her 40-plus years, received numerous awards and commendations. During these years, she married twice and raised six children. Phyllis’s love of the Southwest desert and declining health made her decide her last move would be to Winslow in 2007. In Winslow, she attended First United Methodist Church, meeting several new friends, who made her feel quite welcome, and kept her in mind as her health deteriorated. She served the United States Public Health Service at multiple Indian Health Service locations such as Tucson, Winnebago, Neb; and Gallup, N.M. She ended her career in 1985, retiring out of Tuba City and moving to Albuquerque, N.M. Retirement didn’t slow her down. She was in the first class of volunteers at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History, where she was recognized for 3,000 hours, in the 20 years she volunteered. She also was active in The National Association of Retired Federal Employees and served as a nurse for the Girl Scout Camp in the Jemez Mountains. In her later years she became an active member of St. Paul’s Methodist Church in Albuquerque. She is survived by her daughters, Sheri DuCharme of Tacoma, Wash., Melanie Nieman of Dakota City, Neb., Penny O’Malley of Omaha, Neb., and Charley Morehead of Winslow; 15 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren; and sister, Mary Lou Barnes of Menominee Falls, Wisc. She was proceeded in death by her sons, Bernard and Wesley Paradise; grandson, Robert Morehead; parents; infant brother, James Walker; and sisters, Jerry Ann Kreul and Joyce Walker. Greer’s Mortuary of Winslow handled the arrangements.
