Phyllis Marie Gregory

Phyllis Marie Gregory passed on to her heavenly reward on July 19, 2025 at home in Seminole, Florida at the age of 84. Phyllis is survived by her husband Jim, sister and brother-in-law Kathryn and Bill Winterhalter, son and daughter-in-law Jay and Molly Gregory, daughter and son-in-law Phyllis-Marie and Sam Steele, grandchildren Alexandra and Charles McMillan, Abigail and Kevin Cashion, Veronica and Justin Bastow, Hunter Gregory, Max Steele, Mackenzie Gregory, and Zach Steele, great grandchildren Emerson and Miller Cashion, Mary Katherine McMillan and Mia Bastow. She is preceded in death by her parents Mary and John Lattanzio. Phyllis was born on April 8, 1941 in Englewood, New Jersey. She graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University and began her career as an Elementary School Teacher in Lodi, New Jersey. She met the love of her life, Jim, while working at Kiddie City where they both had second jobs at night for the Christmas season. They were married the following Fourth of July in 1963 and recently celebrated 62 years of wedded bliss. Phyllis eventually left teaching and used her creative talents as a florist. When her two children got older she studied at the Seminary and became a chaplain, working in hospital and prison ministry. In 1984 the family moved from Wyckoff, New Jersey to Northern Virginia. Phyllis started a career as a cemetery counselor at Fairfax Memorial Park. She laughed, cried and prayed with people during their most difficult times. This would become her most treasured position and one she found most challenging to leave in 1995 when she moved to Florida to begin retirement. Always a worker, she entertained many customers as a clerk at Dress Barn in Largo Mall. More importantly she attended daily mass at Blessed Sacrament Church, started a Rosary group, was active in the Ave Maria Guild and ran Mary’s Cove gift shop for many years. She has a great devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Blessed Mother. Her family continued to grow with the addition of seven grandchildren and life revolved around happy times together, most especially at her dinner table. She was a great host and her fabulous meals were always accompanied with heartwarming and sometimes outlandish stories and conversation. In addition to cooking, Phyllis always had a passion for travel. She took her first trip to Europe alone upon graduating from college. In the ensuing years she travelled with Jim to Mexico, Tahiti, Italy, Ireland, England, Spain, Russia, Israel, Tunisia, the former Yugoslavia, Turkey, Malta, Morocco, Thailand, Egypt, South Africa, Korea, Costa Rica, Poland, Peru, Panama, France, China and several cruises to the islands. She loved experiencing different cultures, mingling with native people and trying to converse with them using her enthusiastic personality and Italian “sign language”. In addition to travel, she adored her grandchildren and was involved with all their activities. She was known for taking their friends places such as the movies, restaurants and shopping sprees. These children, now grown into adulthood, regularly come by the house to show their gratitude and love for her. In her later years, Phyllis was plagued by illness but she was never idle. When confined to the house she produced abundant crafts such as wreaths, paper towel dolls and fleece blankets which she gave away or sold to donate the profits to charity. At every holiday, she went to the doctor’s office with gifts for the staff. Stuck at home she watched every Rays game and could tell you everything you needed to know about the players and what might have been a better coaching decision. At the hospital, she would attempt to match-make all the young staff. She would also ask each of them, regardless of their religion, to spend a moment in prayer with her. She had daily phone calls with her sister Kathy to discuss their latest recipes. She was always quick with a smile, a prayer, and advice (solicited or not). Her heart belonged to her best friends, Jim and Jesus and, although reluctant to leave the former, she longed to be with her Savior. She dreamed of meeting her Grandma Louisa again (the one who had always “rescued” her when she got in trouble as a child). She said she didn’t have a thing left on her bucket list…except maybe a trip to Vietnam. She had jumped out of an airplane, gone to jail for abortion protest, and taken 12 Girl Scouts to dinner at the World Trade Center for their first taste of escargot. Most importantly, she had touched thousands of lives with her faith, her love and her spirited personality. No one who met Phyllis was ever the same. She will surely leave a gaping hole in our lives but we rejoice in knowing that she is HOME. A funeral Mass officiated by Father Mike O’Brien is scheduled for Saturday, July 26, 2025 at 9:30 am at St. Jerome Catholic Church in Largo, FL. All are invited to a reception immediately following in the church Parish Center. Anyone interested in attending the interment at Calvary Catholic Cemetery is welcome. In lieu of flowers, Phyllis wanted people to make a donation to the Lifeline Ministry Food Pantry at St. Jerome Church. https://www.osvhub.com/stjeromeonline/giving/funds/lifeline-ministries

Phyllis Marie Gregory

April 8, 1941 - July 19, 2025