Claire Phyllis McDermott

Claire Phyllis McDermott (neé Loudon)

Claire "Phyllis" McDermott died June 22, 2010 after a brief illness surrounded by her family at Scripp's Hospital in Encinitas, California. She was 83.

She was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts to parents James and Almina "Mina" Loudon. They were a musical family and each played a different instrument. Phyllis played violin. French was their first language spoken at home. She was the middle child of older sister, Barbara Borlen, and younger brother, Donald Loudon; both siblings predeceased her.

Phyllis was graduated from Holyoke High School and then was a graduate of Providence Hospital School of Nursing in 1946.

She moved to Miami and then later to Long Beach, California in 1950 to work at the Veterans Administration Hospital there.

She met and later married her husband, William "Bill" McDermott, in her hometown of Holyoke in 1953 and they moved to the Los Angeles area where William had previously accepted a position with the Federal Government.

They had four children that were raised in a newer suburban city due east of downtown Los Angeles, called Valinda. They were introduced to the vacation town of Del Mar, California by their one-time landlords that owned a vacation property there. Years later they would invest in a property of their own as a vacation destination and as a rental property. Other properties there followed over the years. They loved being by the beach.

Phyllis was a beacon of light and joy for the family with an infectious laugh and always seemed to find the brighter side of any situation. She was very creative, artistic and handy when it came to keeping kids entertained and fixing things. She loved being a nurse and found great joy and satisfaction helping others throughout her life - even after retiring.

Her husband, Bill, passed two years earlier in 2008 in Del Mar.

She is survived by her four children and their spouses: James "JP" (and Candy) McDermott, of Del Mar; William Jr. "Billy" (and Mariko) McDermott, of Solana Beach; Laurie (and Bruce) Penhall, of Laguna Hills; and Bruce (and Bill Guthrie) McDermott, of Laguna Niguel. She also has four grandchildren (one since deceased) and three great-grandchildren.