Phyllis Jean Surratt, 93, peacefully passed away on July 16, 2021. Phyllis was born in Lead, S.D., on Feb. 10, 1928 and was one of 13 children.
Her family moved to Pleasant Hill in the 1940s and when they moved back to South Dakota, she decided to stay in Eugene and got a job with Pacific NW Bell as a switchboard operator. She married John Frantz in 1947 and they had a son, Dennis. Her job included scheduling for 140 clerks without a computer.
She married her second husband Richard Surratt in 1982, who convinced her to retire so they could travel, fish and be snowbirds in Arizona. She loved her fishing.
Phyllis moved to Songbrook, a gated community, in 2002 after Richard passed away. In 2016 she moved to Woodland, Wash. to an assisted living center to be closer to her family.
Phyllis is survived by her sister, Geraldine Kilroy, Rapid City, S.D.; brother, Gerald Robison, Santa Rosa, Calif.; son, Dennis Frantz and daughter-in-law, Debby; grandchildren, Rebecca Reid and Daniel Frantz; three great grandchildren, Bailey Reid, Kylie Frantz and Colton Frantz; stepdaughter, Evelyn Bennett of Sweet Home; several nieces and nephews; and many extended family members.
Phyllis will be laid to rest at Willamette National Cemetery with her husband, Richard Surratt.
