Phyllis Pizzurro

10/2/1937 - 9/21/2024

At the age of 87, Phyllis Lorraine (Fry) Pizzurro passed away on September 21, 2024 in Fairfax, Virginia. Phyllis was born in Livonia, Michigan on October 2, 1937, the daughter of Myron Fry and Hilda (Malvitz) Fry. She graduated from Marygrove College, with Magna Cum Laude honors, in Detroit, MI in 1959 and started her teaching career in languages, specializing in French, at Cherry Hill High School in Inkster, MI. She married Vincent James Pizzurro on June 24, 1961.

After a short time in Washington, DC, teaching French, she and her husband moved to Endicott, NY where Vince began his career with IBM, and where Phyllis earned a Master of Arts degree in French from SUNY-Binghamton in 1967. She taught in Johnson City Public Schools for a couple years before she and Vince moved to Fairfax VA in 1969. After raising her three children, she continued her matriarchal legacy by supporting the growth and development of her two grandsons, who are currently enrolled at a Bishop Dennis J. O'Connell High School. In the early 2000's, she began teaching again, this time in Fairfax County for homebound students in French, Latin, and Spanish, until her retirement.

She was a very talented quilter, a lifelong member of Vienna Quilters Unlimited, and made nearly 100 uniquely beautiful quilts, wall hangings, pillows and numerous other patchwork creations, which showcased her mastery of blockwork and color design. She was an avid collector of quilting fabrics, as well as antique fabrics, glassware, and many other types of collectibles. She and her husband, for over 30 plus years, travelled around the mid-Atlantic on countless short trips to find her various treasures. She also volunteered at Fairview Elementary School where she helped students make a Bicentennial quilt that hung in the school for over two decades.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Vincent, and her brother James. She is survived by her two sisters, Charlotte (Fry) Wood and Florence (Fry) Horton, and her three children, Thomas Vincent Pizzurro, Victor James Pizzurro, and Susan Marie (Pizzurro) Schied, and two grandsons, Alexander and Conor Schied.

Phyllis' Funeral Mass will be held at St Mary of Sorrows Historic Church and Cemetery, 5612 Ox Road, Fairfax Station, VA, 22039 on Monday, September 30 at 1 p.m. Burial and reception will follow. For those who choose to honor Phyllis, we are requesting that you make a donation to St. Mary of Sorrows in her memory.