PHYLLIS ENNES LUVERA 1928 – 2013

PHYLLIS ENNES LUVERA 1928 – 2013

My sister Phyllis Ennes died on January 7, 2013. She was the oldest of the three children with Anita Mayer in the middle and I as the youngest. For my previous post about Phyllis see  https://paulluverajournalonline.com/weblog/2013/01/phyllis-luvera-ennes-1928-2013.htm  Born to Paul and Mary Luvera in Anacortes she graduated from Anacortes High School in 1946 with honors and attended the University of Washington where hs obtained a degree in English. In 1953, the year I graduated from high school, she earned a teaching certicate from Western Washngton University. She completed a Master of PhyllisScience degree from Montana State University where she taught before eventually moving back to Anacortes (after living around the world with her husband who was in the military). She retired from teaching in 1992.

She had three gifted daughters, Mary, Martha & Dorothy, as one might expect from someone who was so very bright,independent and unique. Her community achievements were numerous and significant.

 She dedicated her life to teaching, writing and community service in the arts and received numerous awards including the Walter A. Brodniak Cultural Award in 2008. She served as Editor and Adviser for many student publications during her career and held many positions with the Washington Alliance for Arts Education. In Fact she was the founding cultural Educational Director of the Anacortes School District and served in that capacity for some twenty years.

She received the award of Patron of the Arts for her community contributions to the arts. She also served on the Anacortes Arts  and Crafts Festival Board where she was secretary and Children's Program Coordinator.

She was involved in the Anacortes Public Library Art Committee and Foundation as well as Anacortes Youth Arts. She served as a judge for the school district art show and volunteered at the Skagit River Poetry Festival to show students how to bind books by hand.

She was a writer of poetry, short stories and family history. At time of her death she was completing a book about our father, Paul Luvera. She has published other books and materials about our family and has preserved family mementos and history as well as donated much of this to the Anacortes Historical Museum.

Those are the historical facts, but they don't reflect that this was a very bright and decent human being who raised equally impressive daughters as a single mother while making extraordinary contributions to the arts and the community. She was the older sister we went to for advise as  children. She was the person who was there for mother and dad as they grew older. She was the child dad looked to as a leader of the three of us and mother looked to when she needed something. She was an impressive and unique woman. May she rest in peace.

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