Phyllis Helen Mangimeli

Phyllis Helen Mangimeli was a loyal, friendly, generous woman with a kind word for everyone she met and a strong spirit that endured multiple heartaches but never lost her lust for life. The eldest daughter of Virgil and Helen Willard, she was born August 15, 1920 in Omaha, Nebraska. A few years later, her sister, Patty was born. After a brief time in Grand Island, her family settled in Omaha, where she graduated from Central High School and Omaha University with an Associates degree in Business. Phyllis loved to travel – she even spent some time out in California working as a secretary for Walt Disney. Throughout her life, she traveled all over the country by bus, train and eventually airplane, visiting friends, family, children and later, grandchildren. She loved seeing new places and seeing people she loved. Her sense of adventure led her and a friend to a baseball field in Omaha one day, where they watched the Omaha Alamitos play a game. After the game, she and her friend talked with the baseball players – one of them being a quiet, handsome man named Jim. She and Jim hit it off, complementing each other with their ying-yang personalities and their mutual love for family and friends. They married on April 9, 1944 in Neosho, Missouri, where Jim was stationed for basic training at Camp Crowder before heading overseas to serve in World War II as a telegraph operator. They were married for 62 years until Jim’s death on November 6, 2005. Phyllis stayed with him in Missouri until Jim was shipped out and she returned to Omaha, pregnant with their first son, James, to stay with her parents until her husband returned from war. James was born while Jim was overseas. Phyllis enjoyed long walks showing off her son and always had time to stop and talk with her neighbors or inquire after friends and family. She grew close to Jim’s family and spent many hours with his sister and mother. When Jim returned from war, they settled in Omaha. A few years later, their second son, John, was born. After her sons started school, Phyllis started working at nearby Younkers department store, enjoying the interaction with people and the discount it provided.  She was very generous with her time and money toward family and friends, and was one of the few people who had her Christmas shopping done by August. Though Phyllis never chose to get a driver’s license, she used the public transportation system in Omaha to visit friends and family, as well as participate in card games and bowling leagues. After Jim and Phyllis retired, they traveled all over, including Florida, California, Minnesota, Ohio, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Texas to visit family. Their son, John, a park ranger, took them to many national parks and they enjoyed visiting him wherever he was stationed. They spent Saturday nights playing rummy with Jim’s brother Carl and his wife, Nettie, who lived less than a mile away. She joined a bowling league and indulged her love of Scrabble, Bridge, genealogy, crosswords and reading. Many a night, she could be found on their living room couch stretched out after a hard day doing a crossword while Jim watched TV and then after he went to bed, reading a book far into the night. When her grandchildren were born, Phyllis found she loved being a grandmother even more than she loved being a mother. She doted on her grandchildren and helped raise them during their summer and holiday visits. She took them to swimming lessons, judo lessons, shopping, McDonald’s, bowling, the Omaha zoo and other outings. Every night, she gave them ice cream before bed and introduced them to musicals and Italian cooking. She passed on her love of reading, crosswords and card games to the kids. And among other things, she taught them to be generous with every action and to always put family first as they are the greatest gift God gives. We love you, Sister, Mom, Grandma and Great-Grandma – you will be missed. Though we are hurting to have lost you, we are comforted with the knowledge that you and Jim have finally been reunited and we will see you both again in Heaven.

Phyllis Helen Mangimeli

August 15, 1920 - November 1, 2010