Phyllis Houser Wilkinson

Phyllis Houser Wilkinson, 88, died of heart failure at her residence Friday, July 5, 2002. She was born and raised in Melrose, Massachusetts, a daughter of Freeman J. Houser and Leola (Vermilya) Houser. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1935, where she majored in zoology. She subsequently taught at the Beaver Country Day School, first in Boston and later in Chestnut Hill, and worked in bookshops both in Boston and Cambridge. She married Philip D. Wilkinson in 1938, residing in the greater Boston area, then in Groton, Massachusetts, and later retiring to Bethlehem, NH, in 1985. She was a gifted and versatile teacher, whose skills ranged from teaching kindergarten children in a woodworking shop to tutoring high school students in Latin. In addition she was a lifelong patron of the arts, a connoisseur of children's literature, and an avid outdoor enthusiast — snow shoeing and cross-country skiing well into her 80's. She and her husband served as volunteers in the Littleton Meals-on-Wheels program until his death in 1997. She is survived by two daughters, Holly Wilkinson Finlay, of Franconia and Andrea Wilkinson (Mrs. R. Lane Daughtry) of Harrisburg, PA; two sons, James D. Wilkinson of Winchester, MA, and Alan E. (Ted) Wilkinson of Northwood, NH; six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren; a sister, Marjorie Houser Susie of Louisville, KY; and a brother, Lee V. Houser, of Topsfield, MA. A private memorial service is planned. Donations in her memory may be made to the Abbie Greenleaf Memorial Library in Franconia, NH 03580.