Phyllis Elaine Lambert of Cary, NC, died peacefully, children by her side, on a pristine Sunday morning, March 14, 2021. She was 84.
Phyllis was born to Levina H. and Erwin A. Lambert, on April 21, 1936, at Syracuse Memorial Hospital. Growing up happily on a small dairy farm in Perryville, N.Y., Phyllis received many 4-H Club awards, was a Charter Member of Perryville Grange that her father organized, and an active member of Perryville Methodist Church. She wrote stories and poetry for fun. She graduated from Cazenovia Central School, Cazenovia, in 1954 and moved to Syracuse where she lived at the YWCA and worked as an administrative assistant at Carrier Corporation. She was a USO hostess. She moved to Greenwich, CT, in 1956 and worked at American Machine and Foundry until 1958.
Phyllis married William J. Link in 1958. She was employed at General Electric Corp, Syracuse, from 1958-1962, when her daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years while she raised her three children and babysat many others in her home in the hills of Madison County. Divorced in 1983, Phyllis and William remained close, sharing in the growth and achievements of their children and grandchildren.
Phyllis later married Raymond Caldwell. Although they together shared many years and memories, they parted company in 1997. Later, Phyllis enjoyed the companionship of James McFarland, who she met at Morrisville College. They travelled extensively throughout the U.S. and Canada in Jim’s pickup truck.
Phyllis was employed at Morrisville State College from 1982 to 2002. She pursued college part time, ultimately earning an associate’s degree in journalism at age 50. In May 2000, Phyllis achieved a lifetime goal when she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree Magna Cum Laude from State University of New York Institute of Technology. Giving back, Phyllis later endowed an annual scholarship for creative young writers pursuing their degrees at Morrisville College.
Keeping her day job, Phyllis worked nights and weekends from 1988-1993 as a staff writer for the Canastota Bee Journal, and was a contributing writer to several equine magazines. She also wrote “Mélange,” a column for The Oneida Press, and was a contributing writer for Syracuse and Eagle Newspapers.
In 2006, beginning her next act, she moved to North Carolina to be near grandchildren. She was an original resident of Carolina Preserve (CP), an active retirement community in Cary, N.C. Here, Phyllis founded the CP Writers’ Group, The Singles Group, and was a contributing writer to the Community Magazine, “CP Connections.” She was a member of Apex United Methodist Church, in Apex, N.C.
Phyllis’ interests and pursuits were many, from skillful crafting, dedicated journaling, diligent saving / investing and extensive traveling. The latter took her throughout much of Europe, the holy land of Israel, the pyramids of Egypt, hillside towns in South America, and national parks and glaciers of the Western U.S. and Canada.
Her lifetime love of writing culminated in the publication of two memoirs, “The Fragrance of Lilacs,” Book I and Book II which capture a young girl’s hopes and dreams in a bygone era of rural America.
Phyllis is survived by her daughter, Michelle J. Morris, her husband William and their three daughters, Alexandra (Alex), Julia, and Katherine (Kat), two sons, Jon E. Link, his wife Christine, her two sons Gary (Rob) Holeck, and Aaron Holeck, Aaron E. Link, his wife Kristi their two daughters, Madison (Maddie) and Elizabeth (Ellie), and two sisters, Deborah J. Ling, and Dona Lambert.
Memorial Services will be held at a later date and will be shared when finalized. In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory can be made to UMCOR Global Ministry at umsmission.org/umcor/.
