Phyllis Lewis Obituary

In Loving Memory

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Phyllis Lewis, beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, at age 93. She passed away peacefully on January 24 in Lee, New Hampshire embraced by the love of her family.

Phyllis was born on July 7, 1932, on the family farm in Ignacio, Colorado to Melvin and Inez Olson. She grew up alongside her six siblings, helping her parents on the farm and caring for her younger siblings, an upbringing that shaped her character and instilled the virtues of faith, kindness, hard work, and resilience.

After graduating from Ignacio High School, Phyllis attended Fort Lewis College in Hesperus, where she met James (Jim) Lewis, the love of her life, at a school dance. They married and moved to Massadona, Colorado, where Jim, a heavy equipment mechanic, was working on the Historic Route 40. They were married for nearly 39 years, until Jim's passing in 1992, and together raised three daughters.

Soon after the birth of their third daughter, Jim underwent experimental surgery for a brain tumor, which left him disabled and unable to work. To support her family, Phyllis worked in the kitchen at Mercy Hospital and earned her practical nurse license. After retiring, she survived breast cancer, showing the same strength and resilience that defined her life.

In her later years, Phyllis lived with her daughter, Betty, in Flora Vista, New Mexico. In spring of 2025, she took her first airplane flight to Lee, New Hampshire, to live with her eldest granddaughter, Tasha, and her family.

Phyllis enjoyed watching westerns, canning tomatoes, playing cards, and sewing beautiful quilts. She was grounded in her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and was a devoted member of the Ignacio First Baptist Church, where she found fellowship, strength, and belonging.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her sisters Frances Greene and Lillian Roberts; her brother Robert Olson; her husband James Lewis; her daughter Shirley Tjlemeland; and grandson Cecil Kinnibrugh.

She is survived by her siblings Mary Heaton, Patsy Wright, and Richard Olson (May); her daughters Betty Madewell (Jimmy) and Debbie Kinnibrugh (Clyde); her grandchildren Tasha Lewis (Paul McComiskey), Tiffany Kinnibrugh (Andrey Yakovenko), James Kinnibrugh, Andrea Tjlemeland, Emily Tjlemeland, and Andrew Tjlemeland; her great-grandchildren, Victoria Tjlemeland Belt, Max Yakovenko, Nikolas Yakovenko, and Hailey McComiskey; and numerous nieces, nephews, and extended family.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, February 7 at 1 pm at Hood Mortuary in Durango.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that donations be made to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (give.bcf.org). May Phyllis rest in peace, forever remembered and dearly missed.