Phyllis Thompson

On July 28, 2020, Phyllis Thompson, a longtime resident of Watsonville and Santa Cruz County, passed away unexpectedly at the age of 87 in her South Pasadena home.

Phyllis was born on March 17, 1933 in Winton, CA to Joseph and Helen (von Schalow) Koch, the second eldest of seven siblings. The family moved often throughout the Bay Area in her formative years. In 1955, Phyllis graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in child development, the beginning of a lifelong commitment to education, either as a student or a teacher.

Phyllis eventually settled in Watsonville with her young son and embarked upon a career as a middle school teacher in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, with positions at Salsipuedes (now Alianza) and E.A. Hall. Following her retirement, she continued on as a teacher in the Watsonville adult school for many more years. Eventually, she relocated to Southern California to be closer to her son and his family, though Northern California was never far from her mind, and her intention was to someday return.

Phyllis was an iconoclast: fiercely self-reliant, sometimes outspoken but always with a thoughtful perspective. She was well-read and had many interests including gardening, arts and crafts, cats and camping. She was an environmentalist and politically active. Her interest in history and other cultures led her to unique and less-traveled locales across Central America, Cuba, South America, Asia, Europe and Africa. She saw beyond race and affluence, embracing a world view of a diverse, integrated culture in which people are recognized by their work ethic, critical thinking, positive contributions to society and empathic abilities.

In her later years, Phyllis focused on one of the great joys of her life, her grandson Sebastian. Grandma and Sebastian played games, built paper airplanes, read, sang and discussed current events. As he grew older, she often lamented that, as he grew older, he would eventually reject her. To her surprise, he never did, and their relationship flourished.

Phyllis was preceded in death by her mother Helen, her father Joseph, her brothers Frank and Ronald and her daughter-in-law, Diana. She is survived by her son Charles, her grandson Sebastian, her sisters Charlotte, Carole and Jacquelyn, and her brother Alfred, in addition to numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers during these challenging times, the family requests donations be made to either the Sierra Club or the National Resources Defense Council.

Published in The Pajaronian · September 30, 2020