July 7, 1954 – December 21, 2019

Phyllis Mader (Ruckle) was born in Salmon Arm on July 7, 1954 to June nee Speed and Dan Ruckle.  She was the oldest of seven children.  Phyllis was raised in the Shuswap Lake area, in the small community of Celista, and grew up surrounded by relatives as her mother’s six siblings and her father’s four siblings lived nearby.  She was active in high school sports and taught swimming lessons at Shuswap Lake.  Her family lived on a farm and she helped with many of the chores.  Phyllis also was responsible for caring for her younger siblings as her father passed away when she wasn’t quite fifteen.  Both Phyllis and her mother had to get their driver’s licences shortly thereafter although it took June a few tries.  Tragedy struck again when Phyllis’s brother, Herbie, passed away in a car accident in the summer of 1975.  She was there to help support her mother and siblings through this hard time.

Phyllis met the love of her life, Jim Mader, in the spring of 1974. They were married on January 28, 1977.  Phyllis followed Jim to Eagle Creek, BC where their first daughter, Rita-June was born, then to Williams Lake where their second daughter, Danielle, was born eighteen months later.  Having two children under two years old kept Phyllis and Jim busy but they still enjoyed spending time together outside.  They were also supported by Jim’s mother and father, Reta and Garfield, who enjoyed coming all the way from Ontario to visit their first grandchildren.  Jim’s brothers and sister also travelled out to see their nieces and the family travelled back to Ontario every two years.  Jim’s job with the Ministry of Highways took them to Prince George where their third daughter, Kathryn, was born five years after Danielle.  While in Prince George, Phyllis met Daisy Rabel and her daughter, Sue Schier. That started a long friendship between them and also between their children, which continues to this day.  Six years later, in 1986, Jim received a transfer to Kamloops, BC.  Jim and Phyllis bought a house on the top of Sixth Ave and have lived there for the past thirty-four years.  Their last child and only boy, Andrew, was born in Kamloops in the late winter after their move.

Phyllis’s love of nature is evident in her early career choice of a park naturalist. Her children’s friends have many fond memories of going on nature walks with her. Phyllis was a stay at home mom for most of her older children’s growing up years. She was active in her church community during this time. Phyllis also became a lunch hour monitor at Lloyd George, which was the elementary school all four of her children attended. Phyllis started volunteering at the Kamloops Wildlife Park with her children, Kathryn and Andrew, and then worked in the café there.  Phyllis and Danielle both worked there together in the summer of 2008.  She also volunteered as an usher at Sagebrush Theatre and worked the front of house for a while.  Phyllis became active with the Master Gardeners in 2013.

Phyllis loved her children very much and helped them through many things.  She and Jim assisted with many moves.  When Danielle became very ill in 2015, Phyllis was there to support, going with Danielle to her chemotherapy sessions and medical trips down to Vancouver.  Phyllis also continued on caring for her siblings, as she supported her sister Wanda through her cancer journey these past few years.  Phyllis and Jim spent countless hours out at the family farm, assisting her mother June, who still lives on the farm at the age of 87.

Phyllis enjoyed travelling and seeing new places.  The family did many camping trips together as well as many cross country trips to Ontario through both the US and Canada.  A family favourite campground was at Ruckle Park on Salt Spring Island where Phyllis and Jim met her distant relatives, the Ruckles, on their honeymoon.  When her children got older and started travelling further a field, Phyllis did too.  She went to Japan twice to visit Rita-June, to Korea to visit Danielle, and New Zealand to visit Kathryn.  Andrew didn’t travel quite as far away but she went to visit him when he was working in Golden, BC.  Most recently in early September, Phyllis and her sister, Ruth, went on an Alaskan cruise.

Phyllis was very crafty and always had multiple projects on the go.  She sewed most of her and her children’s clothes as they were growing up. She painted as a teen and young adult and enjoyed Paint Nite with her daughters.  Phyllis was very passionate about the environment and married her crafty inclinations, her love for bees and recycling in the creation of mason bee houses.  She was interested in her family’s and her community’s history and made family photography books.  At family occasions, Phyllis was the only one with film camera although in the past few years she started using an old digital camera to document special events.  She enjoyed walks through Peterson Creek Park and cross country skiing on the farm in the winter.  With the urging of Danielle, Phyllis started yoga two years ago and enjoyed it.

Phyllis will be missed by many as her many passions had her out in the community sharing her loves with others.   No one will miss Phyllis more than her husband, her children, her mother and her siblings who experienced her loving care the most.

Condolences may be expressed at www.myalternatives.ca

• Date : 2019-12-21
• Location : Kamloops, B.C.