Phyllis Lorene Thorpe

PHYLLIS THORPE MUSCATINE, Iowa - Phyllis Lorene Thorpe, 78, of Muscatine, passed away on Thursday, October 22, 2015, at Lutheran Living. Funeral Service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 27, 2015, at the Ralph J. Wittich-Riley-Freers Funeral Home. Chaplain Gaylord Nelson will officiate. Burial will take place in Greenwood Cemetery at a later date. Visitation will be from 10 until 11 a.m. on Tuesday, October 27, 2015, at the Ralph J. Wittich-Riley-Freers Funeral Home. Memorials may be made to the United Way. The family asks if Phyllis has made something special for you to bring it with you to display for visitation. A luncheon will be held at the American Legion immediately following the service. Phyllis was born on January 5, 1937, in Cairo, Iowa, the daughter of Lee B. and Florence Nancy Saultz James. She married Jack L. Thorpe on December 2, 1956, in Muscatine, and was devotedly married for 58 years. She worked at Model Laundry for a year for 75 cents an hour. After her mother retired she took her job washing flasks for $1.75 an hour. She later moved to the lab at Grain Processing Corporation for 25 years until her retirement. Phyllis was a ...[more]

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ber of the First Baptist Church, Women of the Moose and the Muscatine Melon Patchers Quilters Association. She loved to cook, can and bake. She enjoyed sewing, crocheting and painting. She also enjoyed going to breakfast every month with her retired co-workers and enjoyed lunch with her classmates. Mom was very thankful to have family and friends in her life. Those left to honor her memory include her husband, Jack L. Thorpe Sr. of Muscatine; her children, Nancy Berta and husband Mike, of Marseilles, Illinois, Sheila Erickson and special friend, Ray Wendt of Muscatine, and Jack L. Thorpe Jr. and wife Vicky of Muscatine; eight grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; and one brother, Bill James and special friend, Loretta Martin of Muscatine. She loved her lifelong friend Belva Hartsock and became very close to Mary Phillips. There were so many people she loved dearly and respected. Phyllis touched so many people in so many ways. She was preceded in death by her parents; one son, Barry Dean Thorpe; and two brothers, Robert L. James and Kenneth Sayers.