Obituary of Phyllis E. Oglesby

 Phyllis (Schoenrock) Oglesby of Glastonbury passed away at home on May 16.  Devoted mother and grandmother, Phyllis was raised on a farm in Le Mars, Iowa, and was baptized and confirmed at Trinity Lutheran Church in Hinton.  She graduated from Le Mars High School, where she was a member of the National Honor Society.  She graduated from the Lutheran Hospital School of Nursing in Fort Wayne Indiana in 1962.  Phyllis and Larry Oglesby, who met in Fort Wayne, were married at Trinity, and moved to Connecticut shortly thereafter.  Phyllis worked as a registered nurse, and nursing instructor, and then stopped working to care full time for her children, Scott Thomas and Laurin Traci.  She instilled in her children the importance of education, faith, and equality. She dressed up as a witch for Halloween parties for her children’s kindergarten class, made costumes for school plays and talent shows, and played “God” as an off-stage voice in a 1970’s church play.  She was a good cook and a talented seamstress, frequently making her young children’s school and holiday outfits. She returned to university when her children were older, graduating Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Central Connecticut State University.  After her divorce, she returned to work as a registered nurse focusing on psychiatric patients, and enjoyed a long career at Intercommunity Mental Health agency, from which she retired in 2006.  She was a voracious reader, and competitive card player, playing bridge with the same group of women from the 1960’s until her death. Since her retirement, she relished playing bridge with her old friends, and making new ones at the Glastonbury Senior Center and the Hearth, competing in the Wii bowling league, and playing setback and poker. She was a generous friend, always willing to lend a hand in spite of her health challenges, but was fiercely independent, and rarely asked for help herself. 
 
 In death, Phyllis is reunited with her parents, Walter and Elfrieda Schoenrock, her infant children, Bradley Thomas and Tara Rene Oglesby, and her brother-in-law, Lee Lambert.  She is survived by her sisters, Alice Lambert, Lois Cherin and Norma Newberger and her husband Jay,  and by her adult children, Scott Oglesby and his wife Charity, and Laurin Smith and her husband Doug.  She is also survived by her 3 beloved grandchildren, Luke, Amanda and Maddie Smith.

Calling hours are 10:00am - 12:00 noon on Wednesday, May 22nd, followed by service at noon at Mulryan Funeral Home, 725 Hebron Ave., Glastonbury.  Burial will be at Trinity Lutheran Church in Hinton, Iowa at a later date