Phyllis Pellarin

Mrs. Phyllis Gillespie Pellarin, age 95, of Aiken, SC, beloved wife for 63 years of the late Daniel J. Pellarin, passed away peacefully at the Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Boston, MA, on May 19, 2023. She was the daughter of the late Cuthbert Iost Gillespie and Lena Baldwin Gillespie, of Goshen, NY; and the middle child of seven, all of whom preceded her in death.

Sadly, Phyllis suffered a fatal injury while doing what she loved, traveling to Boston to visit family and museums, and to smell the blooming lilacs. She is survived by Jill Pellarin, of Lynn, MA; Judy Pellarin and her husband, Andy Stern, of Greensboro, NC; Daniel Jean Pellarin Jr. and his wife, Sally, of Charlotte, NC; eight grandchildren: Lisa Crippen and Brion Pellarin, Soren Gabrielsen and Mara Cohen, Erin and Kelsey Pellarin, and Tyler and Wyatt Pellarin; and nine great-grandchildren: Allison, Megan, and Caitlin Panik; Eli Ferguson and Devin Pellarin; Emma and Zoey Cohen; Sage Meriyah; and Ari Pellarin. All loved her dearly and were in turn dearly loved by her, as was her little dog, Holly.

Phyllis was born in Goshen, NY, on October 10, 1927, and grew up there. After graduating Goshen High School, she worked as a lab technician in Goshen and then New York City while waiting for her fiancé, Dan, to return from Occupied Japan, where he served in WWII. Education was all important to Phyllis and Dan; she helped him through Lafayette College and then moved with him to Aiken, where he worked for his entire career as a nuclear research physicist at the Savannah River Plant. In those early Aiken years, Phyllis was the first woman in the Aiken Band, a flautist in an otherwise all-male group; acted in the Aiken Community Theater Playhouse; and was president of the Town and Country Club and the Wildwood Garden Club.

At age 37, Phyllis began college, graduating in just 5 years as valedictorian of the University of South Carolina, all while continuing to be a mother, homemaker, and chauffeur in a busy home. After getting a master's degree in social work, Phyllis worked as a social worker for the Children and Youth Clinic at the Medical College of Georgia; as director of counseling for Planned Parenthood of East Central Georgia; and then as the executive director of the Aiken Area Council on Aging.

In her professional life, Phyllis held many high-level positions and was on a number of boards, advisory committees, and task forces-too numerous to elucidate. But among them, she was a delegate in 1981 to the White House Conference on Aging; a Region IV representative to the National Homecaring Council; a board member of the Croft House; president and chair of the Board for the USC-Aiken Alumni Association; and chair of the Aiken County Commission for the Handicapped. Phyllis was also named Business Woman of the Year in 1983.

In retirement, Phyllis and Dan traveled the world extensively, visiting 85 countries, fulfilling a lifelong dream. And when she lost Dan, her high school sweetheart, she continued her full life, playing bridge several times a week (she was a silver life master); participating in two book clubs; and volunteering for the past 15 years at the Aiken Association for University Women (AAUW) Book Fair. Phyllis was also a member of the First Presbyterian Church, Aiken, for 66 years, where she once taught Sunday School, was a circle leader, and sang in the choir. She was a board member and liaison for the Center for Lifelong Learning classes, and she enjoyed and patronized the symphony, opera, and theater. "Mama/Grand/GG" loved visiting and spending holidays with her family in North Carolina, and rented a beach house at Ocean Isle, NC, for 35 years, where her extended family gathered every summer. She was so loved by her family and her dear friends and will be greatly missed.

A service will be held at a later date, and memorials in Phyllis's memory may be made to the AAUW; the First Presbyterian Church, Aiken; or the SPCA Albrecht Center for Animal Welfare.

Phyllis (Gillespie) Pellarin