Phyllis M. Kinamore

Phyllis M. Kinamore (nee Greco) fortified with the Sacraments of Holy Mother Church was born on May 5, 1927, in Rockford, Illinois, and passed away peacefully on October 7, 2024, in St. Louis, Missouri.

Phyllis is survived by her daughter, Patricia (John) Talley; grandchildren Josiah Kinamore, Katherine Talley, Anne Talley, and Cindy Talley; daughter-in-law Carol Line Kinamore; sister-in-law Judy Rossi; nieces, nephews and friends. She was preceded in death by husband Byron, son James, brother Peter Rossi and sister Mary Ann Keating.

Phyllis was always an active and involved person in her home and community. Avid reader, gardener, quilter, crafter, excellent cook and baker, enthusiastic traveler, loving wife and mother, she will be dearly missed by so many.

Visitation will be Wednesday, October 16, 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. at Hoffmeister Colonial Mortuary, 6464 Chippewa 63109. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m. at St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church, 6303 Nottingham 63109. Private interment Calvary Cemetery.

If a memorial gift is desired, please remember Wellston Center (wellstoncenter.org) or Rotaplast International (Rotaplast.org)

Please leave a fond memory of Phyllis for her family to cherish at the "Add a Memory" link below.

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How do you define a life well-lived? Accumulation of wealth and material goods? Status and prestige? I don’t think so. I think it’s when, at the end, you can look back and say that you lived your life well and that you played a part in making other people’s lives better, too. This is how mom approached her death and it was a comfort to her and her family. Obviously, there were hard and sad times but the remainder were good years. She was a reader and liked her quiet alone time but she also seemed to make friends with the ease of a more outgoing person. I believe people recognized the genuine goodness in her and were drawn to that quality.

Born in Rockford, Illinois, during the Jazz Age, and just on the cusp of the Great Depression, she has seen so many changes in the world. From ice and coal deliveries by horse drawn carts to the little computer she held in her hand and texted to all of us using emojis and abbreviations. Her parents were born in Sicily and came to America as very young children at the turn of the 20th century. Mom spent part of her early youth living in a multi-generational household and became fluent in the dialect her family spoke there. Later as a nurse she was often brought to the bedside of Italian patients to translate for the doctors. Her parents both worked in factories all through the Depression and as a free-range child she would walk many blocks to get books at the closest library. She had happy memories of playing with the other children in her close-knit Italian neighborhood. Her Catholic faith was strong throughout her life and the teachings of Jesus guided her in all she did.

Following high school graduation in 1945, she became a Cadet Nurse so that in exchange for a free nursing education she agreed to join the Army Nursing Corps if World War 2 was still ongoing. The war ended before her 1948 graduation cancelling that obligation. She passed her boards and remained in Rockford working at St. Anthony’s hospital until 1952 when she signed on with Missouri Pacific Railroad, moved to St. Louis, and began working at their hospital on South Grand.

She worked hard and during her off times she enjoyed a burgeoning social life. Many of the friends gained during this period were lifetime friends and are part of the memories of my happy childhood. Attending a ballet performance in 1954 she met the love of her life, Byron Kinamore. A new relationship began and lasted until 1995 when Byron passed. After their 1956 marriage two children arrived in 1958 and 1960. Mom gradually put her nursing career on hold in order to stay home and raise her children. Happy years of camping and canoeing, two-week road trips around the country, canasta games, picnics, family reunions, dinner parties, gatherings of their friends with all the kids in tow. We walked in the woods, swam in lakes and Ozark rivers, visited our “farm” in Lincoln County and so many other fun adventures. Being the tireless worker that she was our house was always clean and dinner was on the table at 5:30 every day. As the demands of raising a family diminished she took up volleyball, racquetball, aerobics, quilting and gardening. She was always ready for any new adventure offered.

She was a rock for the family when dad was sick with Leukemia and after he left us she bravely carried on. She already had a circle of friends but over the years that became larger as she volunteered with different organizations including Wellston Center where she worked one or two full days a week. Her last volunteering gig was with the St. Gabriel Crafters who welcomed the newcomer to the parish and were immediately her friends and neighborhood family.

In 2002, she became a grandmother for the first time to Hope Kinamore and Katherine Talley, born just months apart. She was devoted to her two granddaughters. We were blessed with many visits from mom, in spite of her unease at flying, while we lived in Massachusetts. In 2008, at the age of 81, she accompanied us to Italy where we visited Rome, Venice and eventually Sicily. While there we made a pilgrimage to Roccamena, the town of her mother’s birth. From the deep recesses of her memory, she became fluent again in the local dialect while asking strangers if they recognized family names. It really was the trip of a lifetime for her.

Eventually, mom’s arthritis and advanced age put an end to all of her activities and as she moved into her 90s she was taken in hand by home health caregivers who grew to love her as so many had before. She enjoyed laughing and joking with them and took a genuine interest in their lives. The world is a lesser place without her beautiful smile and bright shining eyes, but if you get out of life what you put into it, then Phyllis Kinamore has won the race.