Phyllis “Phyl” Douglass Abbott

AUBURN – Phyllis “Phyl” Douglass Abbott, 100, born March 17, 1920 and died March 1, 2021, in Thomasville, NC.

She was born on St. Patrick’s Day, 1920, in Alexander, Kan., to Clarence O. Douglass and Catherine (Alford) Douglass. Her family later moved to Athens, Tenn., where her father was a professor at Tennessee Wesleyan College. After graduating from high school, Phyllis attended Tennessee Wesleyan for two years. She then put herself through her remaining years of college, transferring to Berea College in Berea, Ky., where she received her B.A. in English Literature in 1941. She taught in Tennessee schools for three years then went back to college, attending George Peabody College (Vanderbilt) receiving a degree in Library Sciences.

Phyl accepted a position as a periodical librarian at the University of New Hampshire in 1946. She was introduced to her husband, Luther, by his sister, Helen, also a librarian at UNH. Phyl and Luther were married on Sept. 1, 1950. They lived in Auburn for 34 years where Phyl was active in many organizations including the High Street Congregational Church, the Women’s Hospital Association, the Auburn School Board and the Maine State School Board. Phyl and Luther moved to North Carolina in 1984, making their home in Chapel Hill for 12 years and then Piedmont Crossing Retirement Community in Thomasville in 1996.

Phyl enjoyed many activities over the years including tennis, sailing, bridge, sewing, gardening, cooking, needlework, classical music, reading and travel. She had a genuine appreciation and interest in the people and the experiences at hand. Whether witnessing the Oberammergau Passion Play in Germany or a string quartet visiting Piedmont Crossing in North Carolina, she was equally enthusiastic. Her positive attitude, love of people and inner-strength became even more evident as she became older. She was one classy and dignified lady. She was loved by many and will be greatly missed.

Phyl was predeceased by her husband, Luther, and four sisters, Jean Trombly, Catherine Davis, Elizabeth Levi and Barbara Blaskovich. She is survived by her daughters, Kathy Abbott and her husband, Albert Li, of Chicago, Ill., and Barb Nicholl and her husband, Andy, of St. Charles, Mo. She had two grandsons, Conor (Jenny) and Jack Nicholl; and two granddaughters, Harper and Haleyna Nicholl.

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