Phyllis Alexander Kaplan

1939 - 2023

Phyllis Alexander Kaplan, 83, passed away on April 19th in Salt Lake City, Utah. After a short hospital stay following a heart attack, she died peacefully in her sleep, surrounded by her husband, children, and grandchildren.

After 50 years in Memphis, Tennessee, she and her husband moved to Salt Lake City in 2020 to live with her daughter's family. Born on November 22, 1939, to L. Julian Alexander and Natalie Loeb Alexander in Little Rock, Arkansas, Phyllis was a life-long educator, avid tennis player, opera aficionado, and devoted reader of a wide variety of literature. Those who knew her experienced her quick wit, irreverent sense of humor, and stories of growing up in Little Rock, as well as how she cherished being able to gather with friends and family.

Phyllis graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1957, and from Sophie Newcomb College of Tulane University in 1961. At both, she was a varsity cheerleader, and at Newcomb was the president of the Alpha Epsilon Phi sorority. Later, she earned a Master's Degree from Teachers College, Columbia University. After teaching English at high schools in Dallas, Texas, and New York State, she returned to Little Rock in 1968 when her mother fell ill. Not long after her mother's death in February of that year, she was invited to Memphis by her college roommate, Cecile Prager, for Passover. Prager and a friend, Kirk Lewis, set up Phyllis on a blind date with Edward M. Kaplan, a young Memphis lawyer. Just a few months later, Phyllis and Eddie had a small wedding ceremony in her father's living room in Little Rock. They settled in Memphis and started a family, with son Alex arriving in 1970 and daughter Natalie in 1973.

Phyllis was a firm believer in supporting one's passions whenever possible, either with time or money. She loved classical music, contributing to Opera Memphis and serving as president of Concerts International. She cared deeply about social justice through improving the lives of women, contributing to Planned Parenthood and serving as co-president of the Memphis chapter of the National Council of Jewish Women. After leaving teaching when she had children, she chose to return to the profession when they were old enough to go to school, teaching English as a second language at the Memphis Hebrew Academy to Jewish children who had fled the Soviet Union. Ultimately, she did the same at the University of Memphis for decades' worth of students from all over the world.

At the time of her passing, she was a member of three synagogues - B'nai Israel of Little Rock, Temple Israel of Memphis, and Har Shalom of Park City.

She is survived by her husband of 54 years, Eddie; their daughter Natalie and son-in-law Toby Schmidt of Salt Lake City, Utah; their son Alex and daughter-in-law Lisa of Boston, Massachusetts; and their granddaughters Eva Schmidt and Nora Kaplan. She was very recently pre-deceased by her beloved older sister, Natalie Greenberg, and survived by brother-in-law S.L. Greenberg, of Beaumont, TX, as well as S.L. & Natalie's children and grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the Kaplan family suggests a donation to the Temple Israel of Memphis Rabbi Emeritus Harry Danziger Discretionary Fund at timemphis.org/giving/.

A memorial service will be held at Temple Israel of Memphis at 10 am on Sunday, May 14th.