Karen McPhillips

PITTSFIELD -- Karen Elizabeth McPhillips, 49, of Elaine Drive, died yesterday at Laurel Lake Center for Health and Rehabilitation after a long battle with multiple sclerosis.

Born in Pittsfield on May 2, 1958, daughter of William A. and Barbara Dyer Riiska, she attended school in Otis and graduated from Lee High School in 1976. She also graduated from Westfield State College in 1980 with a bachelor's degree in education.

Mrs. McPhillips formerly was employed as a teacher at Willie Ross School for the Deaf in Longmeadow. Before that, she taught kindergarten at Otis Consolidated School and was a teacher at the former Avalon School, Highpoint campus, in Lenox. She also worked as a sign language interpreter in the Pittsfield Public School System and taught sign language in private classes.

She was a communicant of Sacred Heart Church and an accomplished artist and photographer. She enjoyed country and contemporary Christian music.

She and her husband, John M. McPhillips, were married Jan. 31, 1988, at Sacred Heart Church.

Besides her husband and parents, of Otis, she leaves two sons, Thomas Ryan McPhillips of Pittsfield and Scott Alexander McPhillips, at home; two brothers, Keith A. Larson of Granville and Randy S. Larson of Otis; two sisters, Suzanne Avery of Otis and Bethany Perry of Sandisfield; and her maternal grandmother, Margaret Dyer of Sandisfield.

FUNERAL NOTICE -- The funeral for Karen Elizabeth McPhillips, who died Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2007, will be Friday at 10 a.m. from ROCHE FUNERAL HOME, with a Liturgy of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. at Sacred Heart Church in Pittsfield celebrated by the Rev. James K. Joyce, pastor. Burial will follow in a cemetery to be determined. Calling hours will be tomorrow from 4 to 7 p.m. at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, donations in Karen's memory may be made to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Central New England chapter, in care of the funeral home, 120 Main St., Lenox MA 01240. Karen was the beloved niece of William and Diane Dyer of Otis and will be deeply missed by all of her nieces, nephews and extended family members. She will be fondly remembered for her dry sense of humor, her strong, upbeat spirit, her love of life and her unshakable faith in God, which she maintained to the end.