Phyllis Gwendolyn (Briggs) Goodwin-Stanton

TEMPLETON, Calif. – Phyllis Gwendolyn Briggs Goodwin-Stanton, 97, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Aug. 10, 2025, at Vineyard Hills Health Center in Templeton, Calif.

Phyllis was born on July 2, 1928, in Harrison, Maine, to Myron Briggs and Mildred Ward. She spent her childhood in Harrison before moving to Portland as a teenager, where she worked at Burnham & Morrill (B&M) Beans, the iconic Portland company known for its brick-oven baked beans. She later worked at the Portland shipyard before moving to South Waterford to care for Willard Goodwin during the final years of his life.

Phyllis married Clinton S. Goodwin on Sept. 23, 1948, in North Waterford. She lived in South Waterford for more than 35 years and was affectionately known as “Mom” or “Aunt Phyllis” to many local children. After the death of her first husband in 1978, she remarried and relocated to Arizona, and returned to Bridgton, following her second husband’s death. In 2014, Phyllis moved in with her son Bill Goodwin and family, and in December 2017, she moved to San Miguel, Calif., where she spent her remaining years with her daughter, Cordelia “Corri” Goodwin Perry.

Phyllis is survived by her loving children, daughter Cordelia L. Perry (Corri Goodwin), son, Willard S. Goodwin “Bill” and his wife, Bonnie Edwards; daughters Lorna D. Goodwin and (now deceased) Suzanne M. Hayward; 12 grandchildren, Branden W. Perry, Nicole Goodwin, Virginia Sacco, Richard Brooks, Christopher G. Sargent, George R. Sargent, Penelope Brooks, Stephanie Munger, Loretta Garrett, Christina Cook, Raymond McCullough, and Vernon McCullough II; 20 great-grandchildren; and eight great-great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her siblings Merrill Briggs and wife Juanita of Raymond, Sharon Judkins and husband William of Lisbon, and Clara Varney and husband (now deceased) Albert of Tennessee; along with countless nieces, nephews, and cousins throughout the area.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Myron A. Briggs and Mildred Ward; her brothers Melvin, Loren, and Dale Briggs; her first husband, Clinton S. Goodwin, the father of her children; her second husband, John E. Stanton; her daughter, Sheila M. Brooks; her stepchildren, John R. Goodwin and Lorraine D. McCullough; and her sons-in-law George F. Sargent, H. John Hayward, Richard Brooks, and Richard J. Perry Sr.

Graveside services will be held at Elm Vale Cemetery on Sweden Road in South Waterford, on Thursday, July 2, 2026, at 11 a.m. Friends and Family welcome. A celebration of life will follow at the home of Bill and Bonnie Goodwin, 42 B and B Farm Lane, Harrison.