Phyllis Jean Stephenson of Tuscola, formerly of Atwood, passed away on Monday, March 17, 2025. She was 96 years old.

Born December 16, 1928, in rural Atwood, Illinois, Phyllis was the eldest daughter of Ted Jay and Olive Neal Jay. She was a force–loving, determined, faithful, diligent, funny, competitive, and one of the greatest to have ever lived. We will love her forever.

In the summer of 2015, as she was overseeing the move from her longtime family home to an assisted living apartment, Phyllis was adamant about finding an award. Despite not having been upstairs in years (at least she was not supposed to have been upstairs in years), she knew exactly where it should be: in the back bedroom, in the closet, on the top shelf. And there it lay–a 1980s plaque recognizing Phyllis Stephenson as the first place pilot in a flour bomb competition.

The story goes that she and her husband, Melvin, had flown to Kentucky for a Cessna convention. The pair made two attempts in a flight competition, switching between the two passes with one slightly more successful than the other. Upon hearing the name "Stephenson" called for first place at the convention's award ceremony, Melvin proudly stood and began making his way to the front. Phyllis, ever the competitor and not to be outdone, asked the speaker to clarify which run had won first place. When the speaker indicated it was indeed the second pass, Phyllis told Melvin to take a seat while she proudly marched to the podium to accept the award.

While she traveled extensively throughout her later years, Phyllis was born in a simpler era when hard work and resilience were the way of life. In her early days, she remembered her grandfather hitching a horse outside their house during his lunch break, a giant bag of mail being collected from the post office as the train barreled through town, and playing simple games with the neighborhood kids.

At just twelve years old, Phyllis' father passed unexpectedly and her mother remarried Sherman "Tiny" Jay. Alongside her siblings Maxine, Marlene, and Art, Phyllis was raised in the First Baptist Church of Atwood. (Art and his wife Sonya survive.) Phyllis became a member of the church in 1938 and had the distinct honor of being its "longest-serving member" for many, many years. And serve, she did: teaching Sunday School, singing in the choir, baking thousands of cookies, caring for anyone in need, and volunteering at Awanas each week.

On August 16, 1945, Phyllis married Melvin Wayne Stephenson in Garrett Township. Phyllis finished her senior year of high school following their marriage, before welcoming four children—Brenda (Jim) Poole, Eric (Carole) Stephenson, Rhonda (Bob) Nelson, and Melinda (Dave) Ray—all within a span of just five years. The couple worked tirelessly for their family, moving into and completely renovating their home at 211 West Central Street in Atwood. During the renovations, Phyllis and Melvin temporarily lived in the garage, which also served as the kitchen at the time.

But a challenge never kept Phyllis down. Even as she raised four kids, she sewed their clothes by hand, cooked a feast for every Sunday dinner, made award-winning Halloween costumes, worked in the school cafeteria, and showed up in support every time she could.

To help afford a nice Christmas for her children, Phyllis would brave freezing temperatures to glean and then sell leftover corn from the fields. The tradition of magical Christmases continued with her grandchildren–Rich (Robin) Calhoun, Mike (Connie) Calhoun, Angie (Fred) Morecraft, Heather Conner, Joe (Cheri) Stephenson, Adam (Melissa) Stephenson, Jeanette (Ryan) Leeser, Court Hadden, Curt (Allison) Louret, Cassie (Tom) Kinn–all of whom remember a mountain of presents surrounding the tree.

Unique among almost all grandmothers–and certainly uncommon for women at the time–Phyllis delighted in piloting her family and friends to the skies in one of the many Cessnas she and Melvin owned. She would take off from the runway between the cornfields, sometimes just for dinner. Only once did she land upside down, and even then she got right back in the cockpit and flew again.

She had a way of making each person feel seen and valued as uniquely special. Her home was filled with family photos, constantly being rotated by her grandchildren so that their photo was on top, and thus the temporary favorite. What we love, however, is that every one of us was indeed her favorite.

The love Phyllis showed her family and friends was unconditional and it was regularly expressed in the food she made. A visit to her house always included cookies, and often potato soup and beef and noodles. More than one grandchild asked to learn the recipe for beef and noodles only to find the "recipe" nearly impossible to replicate as it had lived exclusively in her mind for decades.

Her home was one-of-a-kind and is remembered by the "Mel & Phyl Stephenson" airplane sign outside, the creak of the porch swing, the way the front door dragged on the plush carpet, the record player, the back door we only ever saw used once, the backyard, the kitchen table where we laughed and played cards until the early morning, and the perfect and impossible-to-describe smell of grandma's house.

In this home and everywhere else, she went above and beyond to love her family well. She drove cross country to help move and unpack her daughter. She showed up to graduations and life events. She remembered everyone's birthdays. She texted well into her 90s about University of Illinois football and basketball games. And when Melvin fell ill of cancer at just 64, she cared for him every step of the way until his death on October 3, 1992.

For the next 32 years, Phyllis immersed herself in caring for others and living life to the fullest. In her 60s, she painted beautifully. In her 70s, she rode her bike all over town. In her 80s, she was encouraged to stop mowing her own lawn. At 87, she moved into assisted living. And into her 90s–now with great and great great grandchildren Chris, Erica, Stephen, Brendan, Haley, Sawyer, Kayla, Penny, Mitch, Abby, Ali, Violet, Tiara, Mariaha, Aspen, Jasmine, JT, Benjamin, Taylor, Connor, Riley, Lexi, Reagan, Hudson–she often distinguished herself from her fellow assisted living residents by referring to them as "the old people."

Phyllis Stephenson's life was one well-lived, filled with adventure, laughter, and an unwavering love for God and family. She was our biggest cheerleader, our rock, our cookie supplier, our steady source of support, and the coolest grandma one could ever imagine.

We will all carry with us the inspiration that, just like her, we can indeed do anything we set our minds to. And the lesson of that flying competition plaque: to make the very best of our one pass at life.

Visitation will be held from 10 a.m. until 12:00 p.m., Monday, March 24, 2025 at First Baptist Church of Atwood, 231 North Illinois Street, Atwood, IL Services will be held immediately following the visitation at the church.

Graveside Services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, March 26, 2025 at the Mackville Cemetery, Atwood, IL

In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the Willow Breeze Hospice House, Mattoon, IL

Hilligoss Shrader Funeral Home, Atwood, IL is handling the arrangements. Online condolences may be shared via hilligossshraderfh.com