Winifred “Winnie” Phillips, nee Kieviet, went peacefully to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017, surrounded by family and friends.
She was born on Dec. 6, 1928 in Lynden to Charles and Sadie Kieviet as the third of five children. She grew up in their home on Front Street and attended Lynden Christian schools. She sold seeds in the summer and Christmas cards at Christmas, picked strawberries, raspberries and beans, pulled weeds and worked at a chicken farm to help earn money. Following high school she attended Calvin College, where she made lifelong friends. She was called to return home after almost two years when her mom suffered a severe stroke. She couldn’t afford to return to Calvin and began teaching school at age 19 at Oak Harbor Christian School half-way through their school year. It was a two-room schoolhouse and she taught grades 5-8. The children were very well behaved, but she found out later their parents had threatened them that if they weren’t good, she wouldn’t stay and they would need to do the entire school year over. The next fall, she began teaching at Lynden Christian School.
Winnie met her husband Del in 1949 and they were married in 1953. They moved to Edmonds, had five daughters in seven years and had many fun times together, including camping, taking her family to downtown Seattle each Christmas to see all the decorations, spending time in Lynden helping her dad and planting a large garden every summer at his house, followed by canning all the produce. She spent hours volunteering at her daughters’ schools, including being president of the PTA, leading a Camp Fire group for 12 years and helping as a room mother. She practiced the gift of hospitality, whether it was having last-minute guests for a holiday meal or having people stay at her house for extended periods of time. Winnie was a member of Faith Community Church for over 55 years. She loved her Lord and served Him faithfully; she led a Bible Study, was a delegate to the Synod Far West, a deacon and elder in the church, involved with Vacation Bible School, drove the “old ladies” to church even when she was one of them and helped out wherever needed.
After her passing we found a list of things she was grateful for. The first item on the list was “for a God who is with me always,” and it continued with many items, some of which are “all my blessings, past Sunday School teachers I had, for friends I can help, for a work ethic I was taught by my parents, for being able to teach Sunday School and school, for my pastors, for my church family, to see my grandchildren and great-grandchildren.”
Winnie is survived by her five daughters: Jolene (Steve), Janet (Bruce), Judy (Dale), Joann (Mike) and Joy (Luke); grandchildren Julie, Daniel, Matthew, Laura, Jonathan, Brian, David, Peter, Shane and Charlie; great-grandchildren Savannah, Holland, Avery, Scarlett, Aubrey, Drake and Brynlee; siblings Peter, Hilda and Vangie; as well as many nieces, nephews and cousins.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Del, in 1990.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m on Saturday, Oct. 21, at Faith Community Church in Edmonds, with Pastor Phil Assink officiating.
II Tim 4:7: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
