Phyllis Haines Mercer

Phyllis Lucille Haines Mercer, age 95, died early in the morning of January 12, 2025, in Spruce Pine, North Carolina.
Born November 29, 1929, Phyllis was the 7th of 11 children of James Jackson Haines (1893-1962) and Mary Louretta Ballard (1896-1970). The family lived in Gladwin and Afton, Michigan, and family members still reside on Haines' land in Afton. Many wonderful stories were told by the children living on the family farm, including riding horses bareback, and running from the crazy goose. Phyllis is preceded in death by her brothers George, Norman, Francis, Glenn, Harold, and her sisters Wanda, Estella, Irene, Esther, and Arlene, as well as her husband Robert Glen Mercer and her daughter Becky Mercer.
Phyllis was known by her family and friends as "Jane". Jane married Robert Glen Mercer, or Bob, as most knew him. They moved many times in Northern Michigan, living in Cheboygan where three children were born, and in Onaway where one was born. She and Bob enjoyed traveling and oftentimes packed the children into their car and set out on spontaneous adventures. Very few attractions in Northern Michigan and North Carolina were left unvisited. Jane and Bob eventually settled in Candler, North Carolina, where they lived for over 40 years. Jane's last big adventure was a trip to the Grand Canyon.
Surviving are her daughters Colleen Cutshall of Mars Hill with her husband Jay, Sandy Bernard of Globe with her husband John, and son Tim Mercer of Sanford with his wife Sharon, along with grandsons Michael Thomas, Hayden Killion, Alex Mercer, and granddaughters Heather Thomas, Caroline Mercer, Olivia Mercer, and Hannah Cutshall, great grandchildren Bryson, Everleigh, Celia, and Cora. And many nieces and nephews along with many brave people who married into the family.
Jane was a resident at Mitchell House in Spruce Pine. After Hurricane Helene, the residents were evacuated and airlifted by helicopter for transport to other facilities. Jane was moved to a facility in Winston-Salem, NC. To honor her memory, donations can be made to help Western North Carolina recover from the hurricane at www.nc.gov/donate, or to her favorite charity, the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital at stjude.org.
A memorial service will be held later in the year. She will be resting with Bob, Becky, and her sister Esther at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Candler, NC.
Words of comfort may be e-mailed to the family by going to our website; www.webbfh.com, selecting Phyllis Mercer's name and then you may sign her guestbook. Webb Funeral Home has been entrusted with the arrangements for Mrs. Mercer and is honored to be serving the Mercer family. Mrs. Mercer's obituary has also been posted on Facebook for viewing.