Phyllis White was born on August 11, 1925, in Chalgrove, Oxfordshire, England to Leonard and Pamela (Ings) Young.
Phyllis served in the British Army in WWII. The women’s branch of the Army was then called the Auxiliary Territorial Service, just referred to as the ATS. She “put her age up” by two years to 18 to join the war effort. After enlisting, she went home and told her parents what she had done.
The ATS assigned her to Hastings on England’s southern coast. She was a height finder for enemy aircraft coming across the English Channel. Her job was to mechanically calculate the altitude of the approaching Germans. That information was relayed to the anti-aircraft gunners and the RAF fighter bases. None of her friends are left who served with her in the shooting down of numerous German airplanes. She outlived them all! Phyllis always remained proud of her part in defending Britain and said she was ready to do it again if necessary.
Some years after the war was won, Phyllis decided to move to “the colonies” and start a new life among the Americans. She found a variety of jobs from building Timex watches to an administrative job with a state newspaper. She loved her adoptive state of Arkansas and her little house and three acres in Hempstead County. In 2010, she gave up her independent life to be near family in Montana. She lived very happily at the Portage Apartments Senior Housing in Great Falls until her health forced her to move to Benefis Eastview Nursing Home.
Phyllis died among friends a few weeks after celebrating her 100th birthday. She was preceded in death by her parents; sisters, Shirley Starks, Pamela Choate, and Margaret Hook; her nephew, Roy Banister; and two half-sisters, Joan and Evelyn.
She dearly loved her family and is survived by her daughter, Elizabeth Warrick; son-in-law, Paul; and her two beloved grandchildren, Catherine (husband, Phil Whittingham) and grandson, David; and many nieces and nephews.
She was a Christian for over 70 years. After moving to Great Falls, she attended Victory Church to hear the word of God be preached and to enjoy the fellowship of Christian friends.
Phyllis was a lifelong friend and protector of animals. She always had a dog or cat until her health declined. In lieu of flowers, donations are encouraged to Maclean-Cameron Animal Adoption Center in Phyllis’s name.
A remembrance will be planned at a later date.
The family wishes to thank the staff at Eastview Nursing Home and Dr. Addison, Dr. Culcea, Dr. Onstad, Dr. Konarzewska, and Dr. D. Hagar for their expertise in caring for our loved one.
To share condolences, click here to visit the Schnider Funeral Home website.
