Sunday, June 23, 2019
My Cousin Jim Keller wrote this. Thought I would post it here...
My Memories of My Aunt, Phyllis Cumbo
My mom, Ethel Marie (Smith) Keller, born in 1920, was two years older than Phyllis. Phyllis also had a brother, Loris Jean Smith, born in 1934. Loris Jean (known as “Smitty”) lives in Liberal, Kansas.
Clark asked that I write a eulogy containing some of my memories of his mother. I do have many wonderful memories of my Aunt Phyllis. I am thankful to share a few of them. I recall as a young child playing with Skoal, a Norwegian Elkhound that Aunt Phyllis and Uncle Charles had. I remember that I was a St. Louis Cardinals fan and my Aunt Phyllis and I had numerous discussions about the relative merits of “my” Cardinals and “her” Kansas City Athletics. I first learned the proper way to eat Spaghetti when Phyllis and Charles took us to their favorite Italian Restaurant, Mancuso’s Gondola at 75th and Wornall in Kansas City. When I was a student at the University of Kansas, I traveled to Kansas City on several occasions to get a home-cooked meal at the Cumbo residence. Later, I visited many times with Phyllis and her family in Lindsborg. I remember all of us attending a Victor Borge concert together during Hyllningsfest. Phyllis saw that we had good seats! We also had many family gatherings in Lindsborg and at my parents’ home in Emporia.
As I went through boxes of family memorabilia to find some childhood photographs of Phyllis to provide to Clark, I found a small folded piece of paper in a box my mother had kept. The paper contained a “recitation” in Phyllis’s handwriting entitled “The Message of the Rainbow.” She wrote her name, Phyllis Smith, in the corner of the page. The words cautioned the reader against going through life focusing on the “pot of gold.” It urged that we should not forget “the beautiful rainbow overhead.” The colors of the rainbow represented different attributes in “God’s promise true in his goodness given.”
I thought of conversations my wife Julie and I had after some of our visits about how happy and upbeat Phyllis was with all that she had endured. Phyllis’s firstborn child, Penny, became ill and had a devastatingly high fever shortly after her birth, She became blind and was profoundly impaired for the remainder of her life. Phyllis devoted herself to Penny’s care. It was only as a result of that dedication that Penny lived until March of 1987. Then, when Phyllis was only 46, her husband died leaving her with Penny and 7 year old Clark. Phyllis moved three months later to Lindsborg. She became a part of the Lindsborg community and joined the Bethany Lutheran Church.
Phyllis later developed macular degeneration, which gradually blinded her. She had numerous other ailments, including two knee replacements and cancer. However, she remained active, swimming on a weekly basis into her 80’s and participating in the hospital auxiliary. She would never dwell on her difficulties or ailments. Instead, when we would visit with her she was always eager to talk about Clark and her grandchildren, Sarah and Joey. We always saw the most recent photos and received updates about Sarah’s love of animals and Joey’s school performances. Her devotion to her children and grandchildren was her greatest joy. They really were the light of her life.
“The Message of the Rainbow” ends by stating “as you hasten with onward tread, think, too, of God’s rainbow that’s overhead.” Whenever I see a rainbow, I will also think of my Aunt Phyllis.
-Jim Keller
