Phyllis Rodenberger

Phyllis Rodenberger

1933 - 2024

It is with great sadness that we share with you the passing of our mom (our grandmother, our great-grandmother, our great-great grandmother, our Nonni), Phyllis Rodenberger. She entered eternal rest in the early morning of August 30, in her beloved childhood home. Once quoted as saying, "Keep moving because buzzards don 't attack a moving target," Phyllis certainly moved through her life with a passion for the humanities, a strong sense of community, and the energy, strength and dedication it took to raise her eight children and help raise Josh, her great-grandson.

Phyllis was born in Eldorado, Oklahoma, in 1933. Even as a child, she was "on the move." Her family made the trek from Oklahoma to California in 1936, and after living near the orange groves of Fontana and in the Pacific Coast city of Santa Barbara, they arrived in Santa Maria when she was eight years old. After a short stay in a farmhouse on Stowell Road, the family moved into the Palm Court home that remains a part of the Rodenberger family. Phyllis' father, Lawerence "Pappy" Berry, owned and operated The American Bakery, and her mother, Ozelma "Mimi" Berry, worked for years at Mae Moore, a women's clothing store. Phyllis' life-long love of literature and the arts began at Miller Street School and blossomed while attending Santa Maria High School, where she graduated in 1950.

It was at a high school dance during her senior year that she met Rod Rodenberger, who had traveled to Santa Maria from San Fransisco with the Reno Silver Sox baseball team for spring training. Rod and a few of his teammates attended the dance, and he spotted "a pretty blonde girl" across the room. Her acceptance to his dance proposal soon led to a marriage proposal, and a matrimony spanning seven decades began. First came love, then came marriage, then came 8 children! "I was raised to believe you should learn to do something useful," said Phyllis in a 1991 Santa Maria Times article, "so I became a mother. I had no question that what I was doing was the greatest thing to do." As a result, her kids had a full and memorable childhood. Our parents were always able to find the time and resources to create strong and meaningful memories for us; with Rod at the wheel and Phyllis riding shotgun, the old station wagon was often packed with kids heading to Disneyland or San Francisco, or going on Sunday drives to Avila, Solvang, Morro Bay or perhaps through See or Tepusquet Canyon.

Family was not Phyllis' only love; the community of Santa Maria and theater were both very important to her. The Santa Maria Arts Council gave its 1996 Individual Grants in Artsin her name. The Council acknowledged her contributions to theater, community and youth, citing her talents as a performer, director, designer, writer and fund-raiser. She was praised as "an extraordinary example to women raising a family and pursuing their dreams." A role in the Santa Maria Civic Theater production of A Doll's House kicked off Phyllis' ten-year association with that theater. Roles at PCPA Theaterfest followed, as well as appearances in commercials and film projects. Phyllis was also an integral part of a working delegation of Santa Maria citizens who traveled to Washington, D.C., to accept the oldest and most respected civic recognition: Santa Maria All- America City. At 48, she joined her husband on the cross-country trails, completing four 26.2 mile marathons.Frequent journeys toAlaskaand threetrips to Lucca, Italy, were highlights of her desire to travel and see places beyond the Central Coast. Always on the move.

Phyllis leaves behind six children: Laura Goodwin, Stacy Joosse (John), Brent (Martha), Michele Triplett (Rick), Matt, and Marta Jensen (John); 20 grand-children, 32 great-grandchildren, and 3 great-great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by herhusband Rod; son Todd; daughter Rhonda;parents Lawerence "Pappy" Berry and Ozelma "Mimi" Berry; sister Sandra Sanchez and brother Keith Berry.

Thank you, Mom, for pancake-eating contests with our cousins, laying out our school clothes and presents for Christmas, sending us off to school with a hot breakfast, making rainy days fun by creating covered wagons and forts with chairs and blankets, bread dipped in syrup after swimming at Paul Nelson Pool, selling Avon to help make ends meet, fish stick Fridays and taking us to St. Mary's mass where we filled up a whole pew, helping us with school art projects, goulash...and so many other memories, too numerous to mention.

The family would like to extend our sincere appreciation and thanks to Mom's wonderful team of caregivers: Linda, Clara, Raynatte, Lyanne and Teth. We would also like to acknowledge the compassionate care provided by the nurses at Dignity Health Hospice. Private service for Phyllis will be held at a future date, where she will be reunited with our dad, Rod, her husband of 70 years.

"...the constant and ever-changing sea, its forever familiar and forever mysterious.

My heart is at peace when I can look at the immense, living ocean.

Someday soon we must share our spot on this earth near Mother Sea. Your Phyl"

Visit www.dudleyhoffmanmortuary.com to leave a condolence for the family.