Funeral services for Phyllis Herrick, Ipswich, will be 3 p.m. Friday at Holy Cross Catholic Church in Ipswich. Fr. Randy Phillips will serve as celebrant. Burial will be at a later date in the church cemetery.
There will be no visitation. Memorials are preferred to J. W. Parmley Museum.
Phyllis was born May 23, 1925, to Earl and Mary Isabelle (Anderson) Blank on a farm near Ipswich. She attended grade school at Holy Cross Catholic School and graduated from Ipswich High School.
After high school, Phyllis moved to Aberdeen where she worked in retail stores. She married Robert Herrick on July 14, 1945. They made their first home in Ipswich before moving to Hopkins, Minn. in the mid-1950s. While in Hopkins, Phyllis worked as a receptionist at the St. Louis Park Medical Center. The two also maintained a hobby farm retreat at Glen Lake, Minn. They returned to Ipswich in 1979 after Robert retired from SuperValu.
In Ipswich, Phyllis devoted her time to the creation of the J.W. Parmley House Museum. Over the years, she led the effort to expand the museum to include the Parmley Land Office Museum on Main Street Ipswich. She was a tireless promoter of Ipswich and all of its history. She could be found helping with any project that involved town history.
Phyllis' faith was also important to her and she was a proud member of Holy Cross Catholic Church in Ipswich. She also enjoyed tending to her gardens at their home. Phyllis died Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012, at ManorCare in Aberdeen.
She is survived by her children: Douglas (Patty) Herrick of Howell, Mich.; daughters: Carol Osterhaus of Eden Prairie, Minn., Connie (Curt) Gerke of Lola, Mont.; and Cindy (Janet Carlson) Herrick of Minneapolis; seven grandchildren: Donald Gerke, Brian Gerke, Daniel Herrick, Jennifer Busold, Amelia Herrick- Carlson, Isabel Herrick-Carlson, and Gabrielle Herrick-Carlson; as well as two great-grandsons: Jackson and Landon Busold.
Her parents; husband; son, Donald; grandson, Eric Gerke; two brothers: Dale and Willis; and one sister, Beverly preceded her in death.
Funeral arrangements are with Gramm Funeral Home of Ipswich.
grammfuneralhome.com