Phyllis J. Meyer, 77

Phyllis Jean Meyer, loving mother, adored grandmother and great-grandmother, went to be with her Lord and Savior on December 6, 2024. Phyllis was born in Omaha, Nebraska, on November 29, 1947, to Edward and Thelma Stephens, their oldest child of five. She was an exceptional role model for her younger siblings and carried that over into being a wonderful, kind and caring wife and mother of two.

Phyllis attended Omaha South High School and began working at the age of 15 as a Camp Counselor for Twin Brooks Bible Camp. She also enjoyed employment at Skagway Department Store for several years before becoming a teacher assistant at UNO during the school year and worked at Croft Rental during the summers. She continued her education and graduated from the University of Nebraska in Omaha with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education in 1969, becoming the first person in her family to graduate from college!

Phyllis was introduced to the love of her life, George, by a mutual friend while they were both attending UNO. Phyllis knew right away that George was “the one”! They fell in love and were married on May 31, 1970.They had 2 children, Julie and Eric, who she loved dearly.  

After graduating, Phyllis began her career at Union Pacific Railroad, working there for 38 years until retiring in 2007. She worked as a secretary in many departments over the years, including the Engineering department where George was employed. Working for Union Pacific became quite the family affair with her husband and sister, Joan working there, as well as the woman that she would meet and introduce to her son & become mother-in-law too, Dawn Meyer.

Phyllis was a life-long member of Judson Baptist Church and her faith in Christ was evident in every aspect of her life. She served in many capacities at the church including Deacon of the Trustees, nursery attendant, bell choir member and was the inspiration behind Judson’s big move and expansion as she shared her vision for growth. She served her church and her God with the highest integrity and commitment.

Phyllis has also had a life-long love of horses and introduced both of her children to the beauty and majesty of riding. She became the most organized horse show mom on the planet with her very detailed & laminated checklists and to- do lists! She also participated in several shows herself, competing in “over-the-hill” walk-trot and horsemanship classes. Riding was not her only talent though! She was an avid artist, especially when it came to paint-by-number projects. She also loved to read books, play the piano and taught herself to crochet the most beautiful blankets.  It was through crocheting that she really showed just what an amazing and giving person she was.  She spent countless hours making blankets for her children, grandchildren, babies, friends, doctors, nurses, the hairdresser who shaved her head and fitted her for wigs when she had cancer the first time, and so many others! Her caring heart and ability to connect to people made for life-long friendships with everyone she met and being the giving person she was, she felt compelled to bless folks with her hobby.  

Anyone who knew Phyllis is also aware of her love for the game of Scrabble! She was a stickler for the rules and also insisted that all the tiles were accounted for before putting the game away! She spent many hours passing the time during her hospital stays by playing Scrabble with anyone that came to visit.  She continued with bi-monthly “scrabble parties” with her sisters and friends at her home, making it even more fun by offering “prizes” to the winners, again, going above and beyond to give and make others happy. 

So much life, full of things that she loved, but there was absolutely nothing more that she loved than being a grandma and spending time with her six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.  She would proudly watch them participate in their activities, spoil them rotten and give them the best hugs!  She bragged about them constantly and made each of them feel so very loved.  Her being a master of word-games, she often reminded us that her favorite word was and always will be, ‘Grandma”.

Phyllis tirelessly cared for her husband for several years as he battled Parkinson’s, even during her own health struggles. She showed her strength in so many ways, but her 2 separate battles with cancer really showed what she was made of and that she was not going down without a fight. Her most recent battle began nearly 2 years ago and the result of it took away her ability to swallow and eat normally and made it difficult for her to speak clearly. She fought every single day while in the hospital and rehab and once home she was determined to continue caring for herself on a daily basis by going to her doctor visits, doing PT, feeding & medicating herself through a feeding tube, always with the goal of having one more day with her family. After losing her husband a year ago, this battle became even more difficult as she found herself fighting bouts of sadness. We could not be prouder of the effort she made for all of us and the immeasurable love that we all feel knowing that she did it all for us!  

Thankful to be loved by her are her two children Julie Williamson and Eric (Dawn) Meyer.  Grandchildren: Jared, Jacob and Eliana Haas; Austin and Kaylee Meyer; Ocean Williamson. 
Great Grandchildren: William and Zayden Haas. 
Her sisters: Joan (Gary) Peterson, Diane (Rod) Schwenk; brother, Larry (Peggy) Stephens and sister-in-law, Shari Stephens (Edward) as well as numerous nieces and nephews. 

She was preceded in death by her husband, George Meyer Jr., her parents Edward and Thelma Stephens, her brother Edward Stephens, in-laws George Sr. & Verna Meyer and son-in-law, Glenn Williamson. 

Reception luncheon at Sunset Hills Baptist Church from 1:00pm - 3:00pm following committal.

As a special request, we would like to ask if you plan on attending the service and have a crocheted blanket or other item from Phyllis, that you bring it to the service and hang it over the back of your seat. It is our hope to create a beautiful tribute to her love and legacy. Thank you.