Phyllis J. Jennings, age 90, of Edgerton, Ohio, died at 2:30 P.M. on Monday, September 24, 2018, at Laurels of DeKalb in Butler, Indiana, where she had been a resident since January of this year.
Mrs. Jennings was a 1945 graduate of Butler High School and Parkview School of Nursing in 1963. She began her nursing career at Williams County General Hospital in Montpelier, Ohio, went on to DeKalb Memorial Hospital in Auburn, Indiana, and then spent the last twenty years of her nursing career as the office nurse for W. David Pepple, M.D., retiring in 1992. She was a compassionate and caring nurse, who was spoken of highly by her patients.
She was a member of Big Run Church near Butler for many years, a charter member of Town and Country Home Demonstration Club, a member of Wittenberg Guild and a member of Do-It-Right Farm Bureau Council for more than sixty years. Phyllis and her husband, Kenny, were avid travelers, visiting Europe and all fifty states, with Alaska being their favorite. She also loved attending the Indianapolis 500, rooting on her favorite driver, Mario Andretti, missing only a few races in a fifty-year period. Phyllis loved Christmas and the Christmas season and one of her greatest pleasures was watching her children and grandchildren open their gifts.
Phyllis J. Jennings was born on December 25, 1927, in Garrett, Indiana, the daughter of Ralph and Sarah Mildred (Bryant) Souder. She married her husband of sixty-two years, Kenneth D. Jennings, on December 25, 1945, at Zion United Methodist Church near Hamilton, Indiana, and he preceded her in death on June 18, 2007.
Survivors include her children, Greg (Janet) Jennings and Steve (Barb) Jennings, both of Edgerton, Gary (JoAnn) Jennings, of Morganton, North Carolina, Kay Lane, of El Cajon, California, Mark (Cindy) Jennings, of Butler, and Holly (Phil) Small, of Fort Wayne, Indiana; fifteen grandchildren; thirty-seven great-grandchildren; one sister, Patricia Kinsey, of Garrett, Indiana, two sisters-in-law, Linda Souder, of Laotto, Indiana, and Maxine Sanders, of Edgerton, and numerous nephews and nieces in the tri-state area, who affectionately referred to her as “Aunt Phyl.” She was preceded in death by her parents; an infant daughter, Tracy Joan Jennings, in 1965; one son, Jeff Jennings, in 1980; and two brothers, Lavon Souder and William Souder.
Visitation will be in the Krill Funeral Home, 114 East Hull Street, Edgerton, from 2:00-8:00 P.M. on Thursday, September 27, 2018. Services will be held on Friday, September 28, 2018, at 11:00 A.M. in Crossroads of Zion Church (formerly Zion United Methodist Church), 7997 County Road 4A, Hamilton, Indiana, led by her grandsons, Kenny and Jeff Jennings. Interment will follow in Farnham Cemetery, near Edgerton.
Memorials are requested to Heart to Heart Hospice, Alzheimer’s Alliance, or Cancer Services of Northeast Indiana.