Phyllis Mary (Miller) Seely, 70, passed away Aug. 5, 2011, at the Heartland Health Care Center in Jacksonville, Fla.
She was born to Alvis Melvin and Lena Love (Harris) Miller on Nov. 7, 1940, in San Angelo.
She was the slender, blonde and blue-eyed beauty of the family, and her mother called her the "delicate child."
However fragile Phyllis may have looked, she was a strong and iron-willed young woman determined to create her own destiny.
At 17, she married Jerry Lee Seely on Feb. 6, 1958, and traveled to California, New Jersey, and other areas of the country during Jerry's military career.
Their daughter, Tammy, was born in 1960, and they moved to the east coast where Phyllis found lifelong friends and the freedom to be herself.
She was a voracious reader and was always busy. After she and Jerry parted, she became a restaurant/bar manager in New Jersey. She later owned and operated a cleaning service for new construction.
She was a formidable competitor and negotiator, and even during her bouts with cancer, she worked conscientiously. When she lost her beautiful hair, she decided to be bald for a while rather than wear wigs. She was Phyllis — whether or not she had hair.
In 2002 Phyllis returned to Texas to be near her youngest sister, Paula Elliott, in Commerce.
She was hired in the Facilities Department of Texas A&M University-Commerce, and during her employment there, she once again fought cancer – this time it was brain cancer.
Her daughter, Tammy, moved her to Jacksonville, Fla., in 2005, where she was able to be with her grandchildren and enjoy becoming a great-grandmother.
Dementia slowly robbed her of that wonderful mind and independent spirit, but she was blessed to have a loving and supportive family.
Phyllis is predeceased by her parents and her sisters, Constance Dean Schuder and Barbara Ann Cantrell.
Surviving members of her family in Jacksonville, Fla., are her daughter, Tammy Lynn Seely; her grandsons and their wives, Jason and Sarah Seely, and Frankie and Tricia Seely; her granddaughter and partner, Brittany Dudek and Brittney Bracey; and great-grandsons Justice Seely and Evan Seely. Surviving members of her Texas family are her brother and wife, Aubrey and Maryciel Miller of San Antonio; her sister and husband, Paula and Charles Elliott of Commerce; and several nephews and nieces and their families.
Cremation services are provided by the Eternity Funeral Home in Jacksonville, Fla., and a private family gathering will be held at her daughter's house to place Mrs. Seely's ashes beneath a Yellow Rose of Texas plant.
Published in the Greenville Herald-Banner (TX) - August 9, 2011
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