Mary Jo Phillips
Mary Jo Phillips, a long time resident of Columbia, always knew she would become a nurse.
She graduated from the University of Missouri in 1946 with a bachelor's degree in nursing, after which she worked as a school nurse for Columbia Public Schools for 26 years.
Mrs. Phillips died Friday, Feb. 5, 2010, in Columbia. She was 85.
She was the youngest of ten children of Daniel and Mary (Johannah) Aufranc. She was born in Boone County on April 4, 1924.
She graduated from Hickman High School in 1941, where she met J.W. "Chub" Phillips. They started dating after World War II, and married in 1947. The couple raised three daughters in Columbia.
Mrs. Phillips enjoyed playing golf and bridge, ballroom dancing and attending MU athletic events. She was a member of the First Baptist Church, the Columbia Country Club and the ladies' auxiliary of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
She enjoyed spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
She is survived by her daughters Paula Phillips of Lawrence, Kan., Sally Hyde of Columbia and Nancy Deis of Memphis, Tenn.; her siblings Gertrude Dawson of Littleton, Colo., Evelyn Short of Ashland, Dorothy Sapp of Columbia and Curt Aufranc of Columbia; four grandchildren, Lucas Hyde of Columbia, Amy Deis of Chicago, Ashley Hyde of Columbia and Adam Deis of Springfield; two great-grandchildren, Gage and Grant Hyde; and foreign exchange student Eliska Valehrachova of Lawrence.
Her husband, four brothers and one sister died earlier.
Visitation will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Parker Funeral Home, 22 N. Tenth St., followed by a service at 2 p.m.
Memorial contributions can be made to First Baptist Church, 1112 E. Broadway, Columbia, MO 65201, or Walter Johnson Palliative Care Unit at Boone Hospital Center, 1600 E. Broadway, Columbia, MO 65201.
