Phyllis Craig

Phyllis Craig Phyllis Craig passed peacefully in the evening of Tuesday, May 6, 2014. She was at her home in Cayucos, with her family and caregivers by her side. She was born Phyllis Margarette Werner in 1915 to Elinor Larson and William Werner. Six years later she had a baby brother, Bill, whom she would adore all her days. The Werners lived in Portland,Ore.,and then moved to Long Beach where Phyllis graduated from Wilson High School and attended Community College. Her family was loving, and her formative years were shaped both by the time they spent with and the love they had for their extended Larson family in Kingsburg, Calif., as well as the music making Werners of San Francisco. In 1939 she married Jack Craig, the great love of her life. They shared a passion for music and dance, and as a young couple they frequented the Big Band ballrooms and early jazz clubs of the Los Angeles area where they were living. They had three daughters, Terry, Sally, and Karen. Tragically, they lost Terry to childhood leukemia, but Phyllis went on to devote herself to creating a wonderful family life for Jack, Sally, and Karen, in all the ways an involved wife and mother can. She was a Brownie leader, President of the school PTA, volunteered in the community, created and maintained a beautiful home and garden, baked cookies, designed and sewed most of her clothes as well as her daughters' clothes, and she taught her daughters how to do it all. It was the life she loved the most. Phyllis worked professionally in fashion modeling and sales, as an executive secretary at The Red Hill Tennis Club in Tustin, CA, and finally in Human Resources for Stanford University Medical Center. In 1980 she retired to the Central Coast to be near family, and in 1982 built a home in Cayucos. Phyllis loved every minute of her 32 years in Cayucos. She quickly joined the Cayucos Senior Center, eventually serving as Newsletter Editor and as 2nd Vice President. In 2009 she created the "Over 90's Club" and organized monthly social opportunities for the over 90 seniors.They traveled all over the county for luncheons and dinners, concerts and theater performances, as well as exploring local farms, galleries, missions, restaurants, and the many beautiful spots this area boasts. With her Cayucos friends, Phyllis played bridge, studied art, visited gardens, and above all, danced at the Vet's Hall Senior Dances. Health and physical activity were important to her, and she played golf, gardened, joined exercise groups, bicycled all around Cayucos into her 70's, and walked on the beach with her poles and swam in the local pool into her 90's. As her grandchildren and great grandchildren were born she lavished them with love and attention - her time and her home always there for them. She particularly loved the many years of birthday parties, holiday celebrations, and of course, Halloween and 4th of July in Cayucos. She shared everything she loved with those lucky kids: her active and fully-lived life, an enthusiasm for world travel and the arts, her love for homegrown food and flowers, and her passion for the California coast. She was the "Mimi" who indulged their fantasies and even taught them how to play poker. She was quite a lady, and we all miss her dearly. She was preceded in death by her husband, Jack Benjamin Craig; her daughter Terry Kay Craig; and her nephew William Ostlind Werner. She is survived by her brother William Werner (Ann) of Laguna Woods, Calif; her daughters Sally Craig (Kurt Kupper) of Atascadero and Karen Craig of Cayucos; grandchildren Tosh Drake (Kim) of Seattle, Elmo Paige of Eastsound, Wash, Christine Paige (Bryan Strunk) of Hawaii, and Naomi Freutel (Tim Koch) of Seattle; her great grandchildren Sebastian Paige, Willow Paige, Liam Paige, Magdalyn Paige all of Eastsound, Wash., and Inara Drake of Seattle; her nephew Paul Werner (Kae) of Novato, Calif.; her niece Robin Eckert (Eric) of Irvine, Calif.; her great niece Nell Werner; her great nephews Jonnu Singleton and Torsten Eckert; her late nephew's wife Shirley Werner; her great nephew Jason Werner; and her great niece Michelle Werner. We wish to extend our special thanks to the team of loving, devoted caregivers who came to the home every day to care for Phyllis, as well as appreciation to Hospice SLO for their loving volunteers, and to Hospice Wilshire for their compassionate care. There will be a celebration of her life for family, friends and the community from 1:00- 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 23, 2014 at her home in Cayucos. Sign her guestbook at sanluisobispo.com/obituaries