Born: November 20, 1926, Billings, Montana

Died: September 6, 2003, Fort Myers, Florida

"As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness:

I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness."

(Psalm 17:15)

[This verse was found written in Phyllis' hand in her Bible.]

Phyllis Jean Gibson was born in Billings, Montana to Lowell C. Gibson and Vera Grewell Gibson on November 20, 1926. She grew up on a ranch in Joliet, outside of Billings, with her parents and a younger sister Shirley. She attended school in a one-room schoolhouse for some of her schooling, and also spent a year in Seattle with relatives in junior high.

She attended Wheaton College (Illinois), majoring in history and graduating in 1948. Her mother died after her freshman year. She met David Howard at Wheaton, and they dated off and on, but did not get engaged until September 1949, and were married on July 1, 1950. She attended Prairie Bible Institute (Three Hills, Alberta, 1948-49) and National Bible Institute (New York City, 1949-50), receiving further Bible and missionary training. Dave and Phyllis served in San Jose, Costa Rica, under the Latin America Mission from 1953 to 1957. In 1958, they began service in Cartagena, Colombia, where they served until 1967. During this time, Phyllis was active in raising her children, teaching children's Sunday School, and many other activities. She was instrumental in founding a Sunday School in an unreached neighborhood of Cartagena that today is a large flourishing church and has planted 8-10 daughter churches.

In 1968, Phyllis moved to Wheaton, Illinois with her family, and taught second grade for many years, helping to put her children through college. In 1978, she and Dave moved a few miles away to Bartlett, Illinois, and Phyllis began new ministries. She taught English as a second language, and she and Dave reached out to unwed mothers and recent immigrants in the Cambodian and Latin American communities.

In 1987, Phyllis and Dave returned overseas, to Singapore. Here too Phyllis reached out to young women of all sorts, and became a favorite in her church. In 1992, they returned to Bartlett, where they lived until 1995, when they moved to South Florida. This warmed Phyllis' heart--literally and figuratively!--as she was returning close to Latin America, where her heart never really left. She blossomed in her final years there, even as health concerns slowed her down. She reached out to the elderly and shut-ins in her last years. She died in a place--Shell Point Retirement Community--where she felt safe, happy, and loved, doing a thing that she loved--swimming.

She is survived by her husband, David M. Howard, four children and 13 grandchildren:

David, Jr., his wife Jan, and daughters Christina and Melody

Stephen, his wife Cindy, and sons Aaron, Nathan, and Joel

Beth, her husband Stuart, and children Frank, Fred, Mary, and Charlie

Michael, his wife Julie, and children John, Mark, Daniel, and Katherine

She will be greatly missed by her family and friends. We, her family, feel tremendously blessed to have had her as a wife and mother. She was our biggest fan.