Phyllis White Kelsey

WestlaKe Village, Ca

Phyllis White Kelsey was

born July 8, 1926 in Honolulu,

Hawaii. She passed peacefully

into the arms of her Savior

April 25th after a courageous

battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

As the daughter of an

Army officer she spent her

early years traveling from one

exciting assignment to another.

Growing up, she adored

her older sister Fay, and they

remained close throughout their lives. Phyllis left college to

marry Air Force Lt. Evans Crowell, June 6th, 1946, who died

tragically three months later in an aviation accident. She

married Air Force Capt. Thomas Oliver in February 1948.

They were subsequently divorced; she married Bertram

Kelsey in May 1963.

Phyllis loved nature and the great outdoors. She especially

enjoyed happy times at the White family cabin on

Lake Winnipesaukee, NH. Other touchstones in a life of

military travels were the family mountain cabin in Colorado

and Havabrook, the Oliver family farm in the Berkshires of

Western Massachusetts. She herself was a beautiful, kind

person, finding beauty in others, the arts, music and nature.

She loved playing tennis, decorating, cooking, and crafts of

every kind. She studied architecture and botany and read

avidly. She sang in multiple choirs. She and her husband,

Bert, were instrumental in starting the Okaloosa Symphony

Orchestra in Florida. She belonged to P.E.O. Sisterhood

chapters in both Texas and California. She was always positive

and energetic, eager to learn new things and get things

done. She made friends wherever she went.

Phyllis was preceded in death by her parents, Donald and

Bernice White, her sister Fay Prowse, her husbands Evans

Crowell and Bertram Kelsey, and her companion in later

years, Silvio Azzolini. She is survived by her four children,

Susan Kelsey (and Ross Ellena), Westlake Village, CA, Donald

Oliver (and wife Jeanette), Rapid City, SD, Rex Oliver,

Greenville, NC, Robert Oliver (and wife Angela), Sioux Falls,

SD, and seven grandchildren and fourteen great grandchildren.

The family thanks Claudette and Karlene and Sunrise

Assisted Living of Westlake Village for the loving care and

compassion they showed to Phyllis.

A memorial service will be held at the Chapel at Pierce

Brothers Valley Oaks-Griffin Mortuary, 5600 Lindero Canyon

Road, Westlake Village, CA, at 10 a.m. on May 14th. In lieu of

flowers, gifts may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association

in her honor.