Felice Veronica Pynsky “Phyllis” was born in 1930 in Chicago and passed away peacefully June 28th at North Shore Place in Northbrook. She was four months shy of her 90th birthday.

As the daughter of Polish immigrants, Phyllis committed herself fully to her family and running their small grocery store in Chicago. Like her mother, Phyllis was an amazing cook and often helped prepare food for VFW gatherings and other community events. Her creativity, caring soul and deep faith carried her through the long days and hard work so prevalent in wartime and the Depression. Nonetheless, like most young adults she also found time to have fun on the lakefront, take fashion design classes at the Art Institute and fall in love.

Phyllis met Raymond Felix Pynsky in the early ‘50s and knew she’d found a partner for life. They married in 1953, had five children (within six years) and built a successful manufacturing business that enabled them to travel – throughout Europe, Russia, China and back to their homeland of Poland. In the late 1990s, Phyllis and Ray closed up shop, retired and moved to Green Valley, Arizona.

When she made the Southwest her new home, Phyllis tended to another passion, gardening. Rather than the vegetables she grew when her family was young and living in Illinois, she grew roses. Big, beautiful, everblooming roses of every color imaginable. They were a welcome contrast to the cacti in her back yard which faced the Santa Rita Mountains and provided breathtaking views and the resting place for her husband of 52 years.

In addition to Ray, Phyllis is predeceased by her parents Jan and Czeslawa, her sister Jean and brother Edwin. Her sister Rita survives her, as do her five children, Victoria Ann Dinges (Barnaby), Raymond Felix Pynsky, Jr. (Connie), Christine Marie Baker (Tim), Margaret Lynn Bronsweig (David) and Judith May Conley. She has five grandchildren – Lyz, Alex, Kirsten, Rachel and Dan.

Phyllis was proud of her heritage and loved her country. She was a classic Polish American powerhouse who never backed away from anything in her life … including the battle she had with Alzheimer’s in her final eight years.

The funeral service will be a private gathering. In lieu of flowers, donations to one of Phyllis’ three main charities – -the Alzheimer’s Association, Veterans of Foreign War (VFW) and Breast Cancer Research – are appreciated.