Phyllis Ann Adams Nason, 87, passed away peacefully November 5, 2021 at the Nashville, TN home of her daughter, Corey Nason Reese and her husband, Jeff Reese, MD. She was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease more than 13 years ago and determinedly faced her disease with grace and resilience. Phyllis was a beloved wife, mother and grandmother, gifted gourmet cook, Master Gardener, avid tennis player, vibrant Christian and wonderful friend.
Born in Bethel, KS - a rural “suburb” of Kansas City, KS, on June 22, 1934, to Howard Daniel and Doris Mallott Adams - Phyllis grew up surrounded by a large extended family of excellent cooks, gardeners and fishermen (and women). These relationships were the foundation of regular family fishing trips, summer vacations in Estes Park and dinners with delicious home cooked meals.
Phyllis graduated from Washington (Rural) High School in 1952 and was the first person in her family to attend college, graduating from the University of Kansas in 1956 with a degree in Home Economics. She was also a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority.
From her earliest years, Phyllis was an adventurer with ambitious goals. After graduation, she worked for Proctor and Gamble as a member of a field marketing research team, which sent groups of marketers across the country to test food products with homeowners. In 1958, she took a leave of absence and traveled with a friend for three months in Europe. While there, she retrieved a letter at the Paris American Express office from her college sweetheart, Courtney (Corky) Nason, asking her to come home and marry him. One month later they were married on Christmas day 1958 – before he had to return to duty with the Navy. It was the beginning of a 62-year marriage.
Her husband, two children – Corey and Todd, their spouses Jeff and Lisa, her extended family, close friends and later her five grandchildren, were always her first priority. Working part time, she utilized her strong creative gifts for both her vocational and avocational interests, which included cooking, flower arranging, gardening, home decorating and picture framing.
Phyllis rarely missed one of her children or grandchildren’s events. Particular favorites were the Johnson County Fair where her Kansas City grandchildren won multiple awards, youth symphony and local youth theater performances. She and Corky traveled to watch the Nashville grandchildren in marching band competitions, mock trial events and high school and college graduations.
Phyllis was a lifelong learner and early on she focused on sharpening her cooking skills by taking classes not only in the US, but also in Paris and London. She then started a catering business, worked as a food stylist and for years taught gourmet cooking to adults at the Hall’s department store on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, at the locally owned kitchen store, The Back Burner and in private settings. Her holiday gingerbread house was also featured on a Hallmark jigsaw puzzle.
Her traveling adventures continued with a willing partner in her husband, Corky, who was a private pilot. With their children, they hiked the Grand Canyon, bicycled in New Hampshire, sailed in the Bahamas with her brother, Dan Adams, and skied in Colorado with her brother and sister-in-law (Herb and Betty Nason) who lived in Alamosa, CO. Grandchildren also were added in with trips to Colorado and Destin, FL, celebration of birthdays, college visits and watching the US Open tennis tournament in New York. Later they traveled for Corky’s business as an insurance broker and with their friends to a variety of countries throughout the world. Along the way, Phyllis returned with international recipes and food trends.
Phyllis was also an avid volunteer, as she became a member of the Junior League in 1967. She was a 30+ years member of the Garden Club at Lake Quivira, where she and Corky moved in 1968 and resided together there until 2013, before moving to Westchester Village. She volunteered at her children’s schools and was the president of the Parent-Teacher Organization at Shawnee Mission Northwest in 1979. Later she became a Master Gardener with the Johnson County K-State Extension branch and particularly enjoyed volunteering in their gardens at the Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead.
However, her walk with Jesus Christ was the most important thing in her life. Phyllis came to faith at the age of 43 and her outlook on life was never the same. She continually studied and memorized her Bible and was committed to prayer – rising early every morning to read and pray. When she wanted to be baptized by emersion in her 70s, she arranged a private ceremony and invited her children and grandchildren.
In addition, Phyllis routinely lived out her faith tangibly. A favorite service she provided to others was using her talents as a cook: going on summer mission trips with the youth at Hillcrest Covenant Church and at the City Union Mission summer camps. She and Corky served Thanksgiving dinners at the Mission as well. They supported international missionaries and visited them in Africa and other countries. She also served on the Missions committee at Hillcrest and she and Corky worked in the church preschool nursery once a month for over 20 years.
As her Parkinson’s continued to progress and affect her daily activities, Phyllis and Corky moved to Westchester Village (then Covenant Place) in 2013. They lived together until Phyllis needed additional care and moved to the skilled care unit in 2017. She was an inspiration to all as she rarely complained, participated in regular exercise and therapies and continued to live an active life with the help of Corky, her family, her private caregivers and the staff at Westchester.
Phyllis then moved in 2021 to Nashville to live with her daughter and son-in-law, as Corky preceded her in death, July 2020. The final year of her life was a blessing to all around her, as she brought her wry sense of humor, a twinkle in her eye, a quick grin and love of family to her daughter’s home.
Phyllis was preceded in death by her parents, Howard and Doris Adams and brother and sister-in-law Dan Wayne Adams and Heidi Knight Adams.
She is survived by her daughter, Corey Reese (Jeff) - Nashville; Todd Nason (Lisa) - Prairie Village, five grandchildren: J. Courtney, Brock (Grace) and Marlow Reese (Nashville), Zachary Nason (Lincoln, NE) and Zoe Nason (Prairie Village); sister-in-law Betty Bolton Nason (Albuquerque, NM) and several nieces and nephews.
Phyllis was buried in a private ceremony November 13, with a Celebration of Life ceremony planned for Spring 2022 at Hillcrest Covenant Church.
Graveside Service
Start Date: November 13, 2021, 1:30 pm
End Date: November 13, 2021, 2:30 pm
Oak Hill Cemetery
Easton, KS
Final Resting Place
Oak Hill Cemetery
-
Easton, KS -
Born in Bethel, KS - a rural “suburb” of Kansas City, KS, on June 22, 1934, to Howard Daniel and Doris Mallott Adams - Phyllis grew up surrounded by a large extended family of excellent cooks, gardeners and fishermen (and women). These relationships were the foundation of regular family fishing trips, summer vacations in Estes Park and dinners with delicious home cooked meals.
Phyllis graduated from Washington (Rural) High School in 1952 and was the first person in her family to attend college, graduating from the University of Kansas in 1956 with a degree in Home Economics. She was also a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority.
From her earliest years, Phyllis was an adventurer with ambitious goals. After graduation, she worked for Proctor and Gamble as a member of a field marketing research team, which sent groups of marketers across the country to test food products with homeowners. In 1958, she took a leave of absence and traveled with a friend for three months in Europe. While there, she retrieved a letter at the Paris American Express office from her college sweetheart, Courtney (Corky) Nason, asking her to come home and marry him. One month later they were married on Christmas day 1958 – before he had to return to duty with the Navy. It was the beginning of a 62-year marriage.
Her husband, two children – Corey and Todd, their spouses Jeff and Lisa, her extended family, close friends and later her five grandchildren, were always her first priority. Working part time, she utilized her strong creative gifts for both her vocational and avocational interests, which included cooking, flower arranging, gardening, home decorating and picture framing.
Phyllis rarely missed one of her children or grandchildren’s events. Particular favorites were the Johnson County Fair where her Kansas City grandchildren won multiple awards, youth symphony and local youth theater performances. She and Corky traveled to watch the Nashville grandchildren in marching band competitions, mock trial events and high school and college graduations.
Phyllis was a lifelong learner and early on she focused on sharpening her cooking skills by taking classes not only in the US, but also in Paris and London. She then started a catering business, worked as a food stylist and for years taught gourmet cooking to adults at the Hall’s department store on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, at the locally owned kitchen store, The Back Burner and in private settings. Her holiday gingerbread house was also featured on a Hallmark jigsaw puzzle.
Her traveling adventures continued with a willing partner in her husband, Corky, who was a private pilot. With their children, they hiked the Grand Canyon, bicycled in New Hampshire, sailed in the Bahamas with her brother, Dan Adams, and skied in Colorado with her brother and sister-in-law (Herb and Betty Nason) who lived in Alamosa, CO. Grandchildren also were added in with trips to Colorado and Destin, FL, celebration of birthdays, college visits and watching the US Open tennis tournament in New York. Later they traveled for Corky’s business as an insurance broker and with their friends to a variety of countries throughout the world. Along the way, Phyllis returned with international recipes and food trends.
Phyllis was also an avid volunteer, as she became a member of the Junior League in 1967. She was a 30+ years member of the Garden Club at Lake Quivira, where she and Corky moved in 1968 and resided together there until 2013, before moving to Westchester Village. She volunteered at her children’s schools and was the president of the Parent-Teacher Organization at Shawnee Mission Northwest in 1979. Later she became a Master Gardener with the Johnson County K-State Extension branch and particularly enjoyed volunteering in their gardens at the Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead.
However, her walk with Jesus Christ was the most important thing in her life. Phyllis came to faith at the age of 43 and her outlook on life was never the same. She continually studied and memorized her Bible and was committed to prayer – rising early every morning to read and pray. When she wanted to be baptized by emersion in her 70s, she arranged a private ceremony and invited her children and grandchildren.
In addition, Phyllis routinely lived out her faith tangibly. A favorite service she provided to others was using her talents as a cook: going on summer mission trips with the youth at Hillcrest Covenant Church and at the City Union Mission summer camps. She and Corky served Thanksgiving dinners at the Mission as well. They supported international missionaries and visited them in Africa and other countries. She also served on the Missions committee at Hillcrest and she and Corky worked in the church preschool nursery once a month for over 20 years.
As her Parkinson’s continued to progress and affect her daily activities, Phyllis and Corky moved to Westchester Village (then Covenant Place) in 2013. They lived together until Phyllis needed additional care and moved to the skilled care unit in 2017. She was an inspiration to all as she rarely complained, participated in regular exercise and therapies and continued to live an active life with the help of Corky, her family, her private caregivers and the staff at Westchester.
Phyllis then moved in 2021 to Nashville to live with her daughter and son-in-law, as Corky preceded her in death, July 2020. The final year of her life was a blessing to all around her, as she brought her wry sense of humor, a twinkle in her eye, a quick grin and love of family to her daughter’s home.
Phyllis was preceded in death by her parents, Howard and Doris Adams and brother and sister-in-law Dan Wayne Adams and Heidi Knight Adams.
She is survived by her daughter, Corey Reese (Jeff) - Nashville; Todd Nason (Lisa) - Prairie Village, five grandchildren: J. Courtney, Brock (Grace) and Marlow Reese (Nashville), Zachary Nason (Lincoln, NE) and Zoe Nason (Prairie Village); sister-in-law Betty Bolton Nason (Albuquerque, NM) and several nieces and nephews.
Phyllis was buried in a private ceremony November 13, with a Celebration of Life ceremony planned for Spring 2022 at Hillcrest Covenant Church.
Events
Graveside Service
Start Date: November 13, 2021, 1:30 pm
End Date: November 13, 2021, 2:30 pm
Oak Hill Cemetery
Easton, KS
Final Resting Place
Oak Hill Cemetery
-
Easton, KS -
Guestbook
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