Phyllis Marks

Phyllis (Phyl) Marks so loved her husband. Having celebrated their 61^st wedding anniversary at Moravian Manor in Lititz in September, they were in love just as much as the day she accepted his marriage proposal in college. Years later when business took him away from home for a week at a time, she would jump into his arms the moment he walked through the door. Her passing on December 10^th after a brief illness leaves an empty place in his heart as well as in the hearts of those who loved her.

Married August 21, 1949 to Edmund L. (Larry) Marks after a brief courtship where they both attended Colorado State College in Fort Collins, CO, they always counted each other as best friends. They did nearly everything together.

Phyl was born September 27, 1927 in Monrose, Colorado to Dale and Norma Evans and grew up in Grand Junction, CO. She attended Mesa State Junior College majoring in interior decorating. After graduating, she enrolled in Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO where she met Larry at a ‘get acquainted’ dance. Within two months they were engaged and were married after graduation two years later.

During the course of Larry’s career in the ice cream industry they lived in five states before settling in Lancaster in 1971. A part of Phyllis’s heart was left in Springfield, MA where she buried her five-year old daughter, Linda, who succumbed to leukemia two days after Christmas. Perhaps this is why she always took special care in celebrating the holidays to the best of her ability, being generous with love, spirit and gifts. Tonight, she is reunited with her ‘little pooh’ in time for Christmas.

Having raised her two surviving children, David Marks of Lititz, PA and Sharon Zecchinelli of Enosburg Fall, VT, Phyl pursued a career in business, owning and operating Impact Marketing, an advertising specialty company from 1979 to 1999.  She was passionate about her business and worked many long hours building a successful company. She prided herself in knowing many of the products and manufacturers she represented and was rewarded with a long list of loyal customers. She was a dynamic sales woman and went to any length to meet the needs of her customers. Phyl sold the company to Exact Marketing, Lancaster, in 1999 but remained on staff as marketing director and sales consultant before retiring several years later.

During these years she and Larry traveled extensively taking 28 trips overseas. She loved golf, playing bridge and Mah Jongg with her friends. She especially loved gardening, planting hundreds, if not thousands of bulbs each Spring. She nurtured a dozen stubborn rose bushes for many years before they finally flourished.

In 2002 she and Larry moved to an independent living unit at Moravian Manor in Lititz. Phyl was Chairman of the Manor Golf Group and a member of the Community Life Committee. She taught Quilling to the ladies group as she had published a book on Quilling, Quill with Phyl, in 1970.

During her career she was a member of the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce, the Sunrise Rotary Club and after retirement, SCORE. She was a lifelong member of the P.E.O.

Sisterhood, a national philanthropic women’s organization dedicated to the advancement of women through education. She held many executive positions in local chapters throughout her career.

Phyl cherished her four grandchildren, Hayley and Hannah Marks of Lititz, Joel Ramsey of Enosburg Falls, VT and Courtney Algeo of Minneapolis, MN. Her favorite activity was to bring her granddaughters to ceramics class where they made anything and everything that could be made out of clay. She taught Hayley and Hannah how to play the piano. Phyl was always her grandchildren’s biggest supporter showing unquestionable faith in them, always ready to help out in anyway she could.

Phyl was preceded in death by her sister, Eleanor Evans Butcher.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Charles F. Snyder Jr. Funeral Home & Crematory 3110  Lititz Pk. Lititz, PA 17543 on Monday, December 13, 2010 from 1:30-2:30pm. Interment will be private in the Cedar Hill Cemetery, Ephrata. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Phyl’s memory to the Moravian Manor Endowment Fund, 300 Lemon Street, Lititz, PA 17543. To send the family online condolences please visit SnyderFuneralHome.com. Charles F. Snyder Jr. Funeral Home & Crematory 717-560-5100