Phyllis Barr DeGelleke

Phyllis Barr DeGelleke (December 25, 1922 to September 24, 2013. Phyllis Barr DeGelleke passed away at home after an extended illness. She is survived by a daughter Faith Bickley from Glen Flora, Texas, and a son John DeGelleke and a daughter-in-law Marti Royo from Palm Harbor, Florida. Also surviving her are grandchildren, Amy Hertzog (Jim), Peter DeGelleke, and Emily Morris (Mike) and great-grandchildren Phillip Church, Abbey Church, Hannah Church, Jack Hertzog, and Isabella Morris. Phyllis was born on Christmas Day, 1922, in Boonton, NJ, and married John Edmund (Jack) DeGelleke in 1943. The two of them provided what their children describe as a "Beaver Cleaver" home life. In 1959 the family moved to Houston and then in 1983 to Fort Worth after Jack's retirement. Jack passed away in 1996, and Phyllis bravely built a home in Glen Flora in 1999 to be near her daughter and son-in-law. Besides providing a loving home for her family, Phyllis was very involved in learning Spanish. Her goal was to die bilingual. Phyllis was an orgulloso founding member of "El Grupo" at the Tarrant County Junior College. She ultimately taught English to Cuban refugees and was a docent at Fort Worth Botanic Garden for Spanish groups. She and her husband made many trips to Mexico. In Fort Worth she was in the first Master Gardener class of Tarrant County in 1987 which led to her becoming a Master Gardener Emeritus through the Fort Bend County Master Gardeners. She also was an enthusiastic member of the Texas Rose Rustlers. This October a rose, Delightful Phyllis, will be introduced at Chamblee's Nursery in Tyler. She will miss the Home and Garden Channel, but should now have good viewing of tennis matches and golf tournaments without commercials. Faith had provided support for her everyday life, traveling across the country and allowing Phyllis to attain her goal of staying at her home, surrounded by her antiques, family photographs, and her daughters quilts. She will be sorely missed by her family but remains with all of them in the loving memories she has encouraged. The family will have a graveside gathering in Parsippany, New Jersey. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Hospice El Campo (1120 N. Mechanic St., El Campo, Tx. 77437) and Wharton SPOT (P.O. Box 584, Wharton, TX 77488