Phyllis Ann Corey
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Phyllis Ann Corey, age 96, of Evart, went to be with her Lord and Savior on Wednesday, March 10, 2021 at Story Point Senior Living in Portage. She was preceded in death by: the love of her life, husband, Orris Corey; parents, Timothy and Grace Frey; sister, Jacqueline and Robert Ackerman and brother-in-law, Cleland Green. She will be lovingly remembered by: her sister, Elaine Green; children, Mark and Mary Ann Corey, Kitty and Jeff Gardner, Jeff Corey, Mary Lou and Levi Guy; grandchildren, Beth and Brandon Oberhaus, Eliza Corey, Ryan and Emily Gardner, Emily and Chase Cottingham, Alison and Ryan Seim, Lucas Guy, Eric and Jayme McLachlan, Jamie and Levi Hulliberger; many great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins and close friends. Born in Hocking County, Ohio, on January 18, 1925, Phyllis and her family moved to St. Louis, Michigan while she was very young and later moved to Clare, Michigan. She graduated from Clare High School in 1942 and went to work as a phone operator at the Clare office of the Michigan Bell Telephone Company. Some years later, she met Orris Corey and they were married on July 2, 1949 in Angola, Indiana. Orris was a WWII veteran, having been awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart, and was in the process of taking over the family business, Corey Funeral Home in Evart. They moved in above the funeral home, ran the business, raised a family, and Phyllis lived there 68 years, through the end of 2020. Assisting with funerals and visitations was a natural fit for Phyllis. She was the first face one would see when entering the funeral home. She also cleaned the chapel, set up chairs, positioned flowers and accompanied on pick-ups of the deceased. One of her most fulfilling activities was delivering leftover flower arrangements to several of Evart's shut-ins and nursing homes to brighten their days. Phyllis thrived being around people and her natural empathy and kindness helped comfort and console generations of families and friends paying their last respects to the deceased. As oldest son, Mark, transitioned to take over the business, Phyllis continued to assist in greeting mourners until the COVID-19 pandemic curtailed visitations and forced her to quarantine. As husband Orris segued into retirement, the couple spent many happy winters in Lake Havasu, Arizona, meeting old friends and making new ones. The area's warm temperature and proximity to casinos, along with having all the time they wanted to socialize and having extra space for visits from their children made it a great place to escape the snow. Phyllis loved children. Whether they were hers, her kids', her relatives' or strangers', she enjoyed chatting with them or simply holding or hugging them. She especially looked forward to Halloween, when she would greet each trick-or-treater with candy and a smile, chat with the parents and, later, give a full report with how much candy she had distributed. Phyllis loved her place of worship, the Evart United Methodist Church, which she supported significantly, attended regularly and worked tirelessly including serving as its treasurer for many years. Pie-baking was one of her most treasured skills and she would often be up before dawn baking a variety of these desserts for church functions, for friends, family gatherings or for sale at the 4H concessions stand at the Osceola County Fairgrounds. Every year during fair week, she would bring her pies and be at the stand before sun-up to fix breakfast for the hungry fair workers, who also would gobble up slices of her delicious pies. She enjoyed the interaction and was happy to help with the group's fundraising. Among Phyllis' other loves was walking and biking with friends when she was able, playing cards, going to the local Bingo nights and playing video poker at any casino, as long as they had her favorite kind of machine. She enjoyed a good conversation, a joke or story of any level of taste, and she rarely missed a television broadcast of her beloved Detroit Pistons, especially when proudly pointing out her son Jeff along the sideline when he was part of the team's scoring crew. She will be dearly missed. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the Evart United Methodist Church or Elara Caring Hospice (4664 Campus Dr., Ste. 101 A, Kalamazoo, 49009) Visitation will be held on Sunday, March 14th at the Corey Funeral Home from 2PM to 5PM and one hour prior to the funeral service at the church. Funeral services will take place at 2PM on Monday at the Evart UMC, 619 N. Cherry, with Pastor Jean Smith officiating. Interment will be at Forest Hill Cemetery, Evart. Share a memory, sign the guestbook and view the service at a later date online at coreyfuneralhome.com Share a video message with the Corey family by clicking the link below. https://www.sendhugs.com/record/kpo8s8-isns/Send-a-thought-of-Phyllis