Phyllis Plaster, age 82, resident of Hiattville, KS passed away Monday, October 28, 2024, at her home. She was born Phyllis Jean Fricke on October 6th, 1942, in Kansas City, MO. She was the daughter of Virgil and Helen Fricke of the same city.
She went to school at Southeast High School in Kansas City, where she met her husband, Steve, at age 13. In algebra class, she kept asking him what the algebra equation meant and what the answer was. And he, of course, provided the answers to this young blonde beauty. Later, at the age of 16 and 10 months both of them were brought together at the Fairyland Park swimming pool in July of 1959. They hit it off and were a steady couple from October 20th, 1959, until their marriage on September 1st, 1963. In between that time they were lavaliered, pinned, engaged, and then finally married. They were blessed to be kept together because Steve went to the University of Kansas and Phyllis went to Research Hospital and the University of Missouri, Kansas City. So they were 50 miles apart, but they made sure for three years, 1960 through 1963, that they were a couple on each and every weekend, whether in Kansas City or in Lawrence, KS.
In. late October 1964, their first son, Brad Plaster was born. What a joy. They now lived in Kansas City and Steve had gotten a job at Union Carbide in July of 1964. Phyllis had already been working from September 1963 at Research Hospital as a Registered Nurse. They were both interested in moving from Kansas City to have more opportunities on the East Coast. Steve in particular wanted to be with a large public corporation such as Union Carbide, which was headquartered in New York City, NY. So they moved in 1968 to Willingboro New Jersey. Then they moved to Yorktown, NY in 1970. Along the way, in 1967, their daughter Jennifer, or Jen as she’s called, was born in Kansas City and was with them there for one year before moving with her parents to New Jersey. What a joy she is. Eric Plaster, their third child, was born in 1968 in Willingboro, NJ where they resided. What a joy. Then in 1970, they moved another time 2 times in Yorktown.
The Lord found them at the age of 28 and they accepted the Lord at that time at Community Bible Church in Ossining, NY.
They worked at various places in the New York area and enjoyed bringing up their family. Steve continued to go to school throughout the many years they were married, which Phyllis tolerated graciously. They then transferred to Westlake, OH and spent four years raising high schoolers. In Westlake, OH. at Westlake High School all of their kids were athletes and Friday Night Lights was the big event. They then returned to the East Coast living and working in Connecticut, both Ridgefield and Danbury, CT and attended the same church, Community Bible Church. During this time, Phyllis worked in Connecticut and New York.
In all, she had 50 years of nursing work experience. In 1985, Union Carbide was challenged with a takeover and was ultimately broken up into divisions to be sold. The Eveready-Energizer Battery Company was sold to Ralston Purina of St. Louis, MO. So after four years in Connecticut, they moved to St. Louis, MO. And, at this time, Phyllis got her Bachelor’s Degree from Webster University in nursing. Steve worked at Ralston Purina with Eveready Battery Company from 1987 until his retirement in 1996.
In 1996, the oldest son Brad felt that our immediate family was too spread out and so he thought we ought to move together all in the same area. And so he scouted out the various areas and selected Florida as our next home, so in 1994-95. Eric and Brad moved down to Florida, Brad first to Clearwater and then on down to Naples. Brad married Kristin in 2004. Eric married Angie and moved to Naples in 1995. Then Jen and Chuck still living in Connecticut moved down in 2008, so that we were all together within 3 miles of each other. The boys started their own company and it was a pool building and service company that has been very successful. They live next door to each other and they work together in the same complex that they own. Chuck is a very successful Carpenter and skilled in those matters of repair and has his own business and also works for a franchise.
All three of Phyllis’s children live in Naples. A couple of years ago Phyllis and Steve decided to begin to transition more back to Missouri and Kansas, as Phyllis had inherited a farm and some acreage in Hiattville, Kansas in 1990, near Fort Scott, Kansas. Phyllis added some land and a couple more houses and she and Steve began to come down first on a couple of weekends in the summer and then for a month and then more and more, then as they were much older in their sixties and seventies, for example, they came down for two months and three months respectively. During the last three years, they decided to be in their beloved Hiattville for six months and in Naples, FL, where our family is for six months. They had always wanted to spend their last years together here. And also to be buried right next to their property in the cemetery next to Virgil Fricke, who is Phyllis’s father.
Phyllis is dear to many people both in Florida and every church and community she has lived in. They were transferred nine times with Steve’s job. Phyllis worked at a total of 28 different jobs in nursing, health care, and home care across the Eastern half of the country. So she was employed for a long time, 50 years, although sometimes part time.
They accepted the Lord together at age 28. And were determined to raise their three children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. They’ve been blessed with seven grandchildren and that would be: Brad’s children, who are Dietrich and Harrison, with Jen’s four children who are Erica, Rachel, Alli and Luke, and then with Eric’s five children, who are Zane, Cheyenne, Josephine, Grant, and Olivia. Erica and Rachel live in on the East Coast in Stuart, and West Palm. Alli lives in North Carolina. Luke lives in Nashville, TN and Zane is in the Los Angeles area of California. Erica is married to Andy Hall with their two children Marley Jeane and Julie. Rachel is married to Garrett Bechtel with their three children Reagan, Joshua, and Grady. Alli is married to Jacob Van Proyen. Cheyenne is married to Nic Hannigan with two children Anakin and Rohan. So Phyllis has three children, eleven grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.
Phyllis has been a person that has been a blessing all of her life. She loves the outdoors, she loves exercise, and she loves projects. She loves serving others and she is a giver rather than a receiver. She has been the love of her husband’s life, for a total of 65 years. They’ve been married for 61 years since September 1, 1963. They presently are residing in Hiattville, Kansas. They have attended multiple churches. Between the ages of 18 to 28, Phyllis was a member of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. Then she was a member of a Bible church for eleven years, and then a member of a Baptist Church for four years, each time they were transferred to a different state. Then she was a Plymouth Brethren for about 22 years and then, a member of a Bible church in Naples and then, a Southern Baptist Church for the past 18 years. Phyllis has enjoyed sewing, cooking, bike riding, swimming, and particularly buying little gifts for her great-grandchildren. Steve says. “To have friends like you here today and some who are not here because of distances and other encumbrances is a blessing. Phyllis wanted each one that hears this message to know that she loves them and that she prays for them and has done that for many years, particularly the family and close friends.” Phyllis has probably 50 cousins in the Sedalia, Warrensburg, and Concordia, MO area. Her closest cousins are Kathy Wilburn, Connie Skelton, Mary Siard and Carl Ray Colson.
Rev. Joel Crippen will conduct funeral services at 10:00 AM Thursday, October 31st, at the Hiattville United Methodist Church.
Burial will follow in the Hiattville Cemetery.
The family will receive friends from 5:00 until 7:00 PM Wednesday at the Cheney Witt Chapel.
Memorials are suggested to the First Southern Baptist Church, Fort Scott and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, PO Box 347, 201 S. Main St., Fort Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted online at cheneywitt.com.
