Obituary: Taufen, Phyllis Marie (Marion Robert), Snjm
Age 90
She and her twin brother joined her two older brothers, and five years later were blessed by her “little sister.”
Phyllis completed twelve years of education at St. Boniface School, Uniontown, in 1942.
Of her young life, Phyllis says, “I grew up on a large wheat farm in the famous Palouse Wheatland and in my earliest years attended one of the last one-room schools where we made puppets, wrote plays and caught butterflies for science-along with excelling in the three Rs.
We did all those innovative educational activities like cross-level tutoring, community building, multicourse studies, and writing across the curriculum long before they became popular in the educational world.”
Phyllis earned a B.A.
in Education from Holy Names College, Spokane, in 1946.
She also holds an M.A.
in English from Gonzaga University, and has taken advantage of numerous post-graduate educational opportunities in Theology, Writing and Collaborative Learning.
Phyllis entered the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Names in 1948, pronouncing her vows in 1950.
A lifetime educator, Phyllis began play-teaching at the age of ten with her younger sister as her only pupil.
Professionally, she began as an eighth grade teacher at St. Mary’s in Medford, St. Joseph’s in Seattle, St. Vincent’s in Salem and St. Aloysius in Spokane.
She served as Principal at St. Francis Cabrini in Tacoma from 1965, and at Assumption School in Seattle from 1969-74.
Returning to Spokane, she taught again at St. Aloysius before being chosen as Principal at Cataldo Middle School in 1976.
In 1981, Sister Phyllis began her twenty year career at Gonzaga University, rising to the level of Professor in the English Department, teacher in the School of Business, Coordinator of Lower Division English and Director of the University Writing Lab.
She was a seminar presenter for a variety of business, civic and educational groups.
In 1988 colleagues and students named her Teacher of the Year from a faculty of over two hundred.
She co-authored the book Loving Your Work Everafter in 1990.
Phyllis’ extraordinary contributions to the field of education were rewarded by an honorary Doctorate bestowed by Gonzaga University.
As a Sister of the Holy Names, Phyllis has been energized by the particular gifts and call of her order to collaborate with the Church’s mission of education through the full development of the human person.
She strove throughout her life to live that call herself, and to impart a love of learning and a sense of responsibility to develop and share innate talents and gifts.
Phyllis sums up her biography as “Educator—-Administrator.”
Her friends and family would add poet, artist, philosopher, contemplative, hearer and sharer of The Word of God.
Through her writing and her painting, Phyllis has faithfully shared the God within her with the world around her.
Phyllis is survived by the children of her brother Harvey: Lester, Mary Beth, John and Linda; wife and children of her brother Warren (Fran): Larry, Steven, Deborah Wells, Donald; children of her twin brother Robert: Mary Margaret, Walter, Michael, Kathryn, Otto and Elizabeth; and her sister Janet (Loren) Weigelt and their children Dwight (Mary Jane), Sally (Dennis) Piepel and Amy (Chris) Leinweher.
Her brothers have all died, as had her nephew Paul.
She is also loved and remembered by her religious Sisters and their Associates, colleagues, friends and students.
Sister Phyllis Marie Taufen died February 13, 2015, at Hospice House in Spokane.
Vigil service on Thursday, February 19, 2015, at 7:30 PM at Convent of the Holy Names, Spokane.
Mass of Christian Burial on Friday, February 20, 2015, 10 AM at Convent of the Holy Names, Spokane.
Memorial gifts may be made to the Sisters of the Holy Names Retirement Fund, 2911 West Fort Wright Drive, Spokane, WA 99224.
Arrangements have been entrusted to: