Phyllis Jeanne Nuoffer Guenter's Obituary
Phyllis Jeanne (Nuoffer) Guenter was born October 1, 1925, in her grandparents’ home in Webster City, Iowa. She was the only child of Curtis and Dorothy Nuoffer, granddaughter of a Lutheran pastor. She lived in Chicago, Illinois and moved to Toledo, Ohio in ninth grade. Jeanne attended pre-nursing school in Miami, Ohio, and as a cadet nurse served Holocaust survivors in New York City. She met her husband, Tom, at the Lutheran Student Chapel at the University of Michigan, where she pursued her B.S. Nursing degree. Jeanne and Tom were married on August 20, 1949, in Toledo. Jeanne worked as a nurse, while Tom finished his masters degree in chemical engineering. Thereafter, she dedicated her life to raising four children – Kathy, Bill, Bob, Carol – and welcomed a South African exchange student daughter, Wilna, for a year. She was an exceptional hostess and homemaker, always opening her home to others. She loved to read, sing, cook, and travel. Moving frequently throughout her life and making lifelong friends along the way, she always found a Lutheran church where she actively served by singing in the choir, teaching Sunday school, hosting and leading ladies’ functions, serving on the altar guild, and so much more. If you came to her home and she wasn’t there, it was a good bet she was at church. Later in life in her home, she lovingly cared for both her mother and mother-in-law. When that season was over, Jeanne and Tom were able to travel the world, visiting old friends, making new ones. Her children had the privilege of taking care of her in her home the last years of her life – just as she took care of her family. She died peacefully in her sleep at home on Sunday, July 30, 2023, two months shy of her 98th birthday. She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband, daughter, son-in-law, grandson, and daughter-in-law. Jeanne is survived by her sons Bill and Bob (Deb), daughter Carol, granddaughter Sarah (Donald) Betzold, Eric (Hailey) Nix, and great-grandsons, Otto and Ira Nix. Jeanne instilled in her family one of the mottos which she lived by: Live one day at a time. You cannot do anything to change the past, but you can do something about today. Her smile, warm heart, hospitality, joy, comfort, counsel, friendship, and love will be sorely missed.
A private family service will be held at Memorial Park Cemetery in Memphis, with a celebration of life at a later date at Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Memphis.
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