Phloris Slack, 99

Phloris Grandma Slack left this world at Brendan House to join her valentine sweetheart, John, on Dec. 24, 2009. Phloris Martelle Hollinberger was born in Adel, Iowa, on June 17, 1910, the daughter of Charles and Vernia Brower Hollinberger. In March of 1913 the family moved to Kalispell. Her father bought a farm in the Creston area where the family lived until 1941. Her brother, Carroll, was two years younger. She loved being with her father outdoors, fishing, and helping him with the farm work. As a child she started counting, first gopher tails for herself and her brother, then at 14 she was treasurer for the Riverside 4-H Club; at 15, treasurer for Sunday School as well as organist, and in high school she counted the money for the annuals. She enjoyed working at Glacier Bay Fox Farm and at Belton rental cabins where she recorded payments. She was also treasurer for Forest Park, I.B.H., and Evergreen Homemakers Extension clubs. She was treasurer for the Republican Women s Club and in 1960, she helped start the Daughters of the Nile where she held all offices and was treasurer for 30-some years. She was always treasurer of something, John A. Slack Logging, Evergreen PTA, Loggers Convention in Kalispell and the Flathead RV Club. She said, I disliked figures or arithmetic but it seems mathematics were always there for me to decipher correctly. She certainly did a good job of it. Phloris went to grade school at Riverside in Creston and then to Flathead County High School where she graduated with the class of 1929. On Valentine s Day, Feb. 14, 1931, she married John A. Slack, the love of her life, with whom she had three sons, twins, Jim and John, and Jerry. They lived in many areas of Montana, including Babb, Olney, Dayton, Patrick Creek, LaSalle, and finally settling in the Evergreen area in 1949. She worked off and on many years cooking in logging camps for her husband and she also worked at Montgomery Ward and the Flathead County Treasurer s Office. She also did all the bookwork for John s logging business. Phloris belonged to many organizations in her lifetime " several different Extension Homemaker clubs, Evergreen PTA, Lady Lions, Women of the Moose, Flathead Federation of Women s Club, Flathead Valley Good Sam s, Flathead Safety Council, Republican Women s Club, Precinct Committee member, Election Board for many years, clerk for the U.S. Commodity Distribution Center, and the Flathead Historical Society. She has held most offices in all these groups, most times being secretary or treasurer for many years. Phloris was always an important part of all her high school class reunions, many times making all the arrangements and contacting classmates herself. In 1960 she began her volunteer work in earnest when she began working with the Red Cross, where they helped at the North Valley Extended Care Center, the Flathead County Nursing Home, a private nursing home in Kalispell, and the Felix Nursing Home in Evergreen where they helped with meals, writing and reading letters, and helping with social events. They also assisted with the ambliopia eye screening program at the city and rural schools. She was on the board of directors and served as secretary for many years. They also assisted with any disasters, especially the famous 64 flood, where they provided food and shelter for the workers as well as the people who were flooded, even as she was flooded herself. In 1965 the Red Cross bloodmobile began coming to the Flathead area and the Red Cross girls helped with this. Later the blood drawings were held on a regular basis at Courthouse East and she worked there until she retired in 1993. In 1960, she helped organize the Flathead Daughters of the Nile. She held every office in this organization. She served as treasurer for 27 years. The goal of the Daughters is to help anyone under the age of 18 who has a major bone or muscle disorder or has sustained a serious burn to be treated at the Shriners Hospital. They also send gifts, clothing and homemade quilts to the hospital. Her latest adventure in the volunteer field had been the Evergreen Food Bank where she was treasurer for 16 years. She was there every Tuesday morning to help with the distribution of food until she retired in 2002. One of her hobbies was collecting humorous readings and presenting them to social groups. When resting she liked to crochet and work crossword puzzles. She was also in the midst of writing her life story. Phloris and John traveled to Alaska, Hawaii, Korea, Mexico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Caracas, Venezuela, Australia and all over the U.S.A. Phloris was always very interested in history and visited several historical sites in the U.S. She shared her experiences by giving color slide talks to schools and organizations. In 1989 Phloris was chosen to receive the honor of Lady of the Year, which is sponsored by the Beta Sigma Phi sorority. She joined the Central Christian Church in the early 1950s and continued to be a participating member. In the spring of 2003 she asked to babysit her 3- and 5-year-old great-grandchildren so she could feed them cookies and read to them. She loved to read to children. She was always a very supportive mother, grandma and friend to all. She was always doing for others, but had a hard time letting others do for her. She will be remembered by all as Grandma Slack, the cookie lady, as she always had cookies on hand whenever anyone stopped by. Phloris moved to Brendan House in September 2004. She was a model resident and always participated in all the offered activities. She was preceded in death by her husband of 64 years, John; her parents; brother, Carroll; sister-in-law, Anne Hollinberger; and nephew, Dale Hollinberger. Phloris is survived by her sons, James A. Slack and wife, Patti, John C. Slack and wife, Sharon, and Jerry L. Slack and wife, Karen; along with 17 grand- and stepgrandchildren; many, many great-grandchildren; two nieces; and several great-nieces and nephews. Funeral services for Phloris will be held at 2 p.m. Monday, Dec. 28, at Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Chapel, with Dr. Jan Van der Poll officiating. Burial will follow services at Glacier Memorial Gardens. Donations may be made to Flathead Food Bank or Shriner s Children s Hospital, two of her favorite charities, or the charity of your choice. Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home and Crematory is caring for Phloris family. You are invited to go to www.jgfuneralhome.com to view Phloris guest book, offer condolences and share memories.