Phyllis Rountree
Born In: Glace Bay
Born: July 5th, 1931
Passed in: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Passed on: April 7th, 2014
Phyllis Arlene Rountree, 83, of Halifax, died on April 7, 2014 in hospital, of complications from a stroke.
Phyllis was born in Glace Bay, N.S. on July 5, 1931 to the late Robert and Phyllis MacDonald. Her brother Eric, her senior by nine years, was killed at age twenty in the Second World War.
She married the late Seddon Vibert 'Ted' Rountree in October of 1959.
She is survived by her two sons, Eric Robert (Vanessa Buhr-Rountree) and Scott Gregory (Starr Carvery), both of Halifax; her cousin, Heather Osler of Glace Bay and her sister-in-law, Patricia Chénard of Montréal.
Phyllis attended Glace Bay High School and took a fine arts programme at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick, where she was fortunate enough to meet and learn from artist Lawren P. Harris, son of the great Lawren S. Harris of the Group of Seven.
Her love of the arts was lifelong. She was a gifted painter, and she also sang beautifully and played piano. She was a member of the Armdale Chorus, who surprised her and her new husband with a performance at their wedding.
Phyllis worked for the CBC in the 1950s, first as a secretary to station manager Sydney Kennedy, and later as a producer of a fashion segment for the supper-hour news programme. As with art, her love of fashion—and her fashion sense—was well known and lifelong. She was named one of Canada’s ten best-dressed women by New Liberty Magazine.
Later in her life, she worked for Dalhousie University’s human resources department, where she again started as a secretary and moved up to become a staffing officer. Nothing delighted her more than finding the right job for the right person.
Phyllis loved people: Meeting them, talking with them, getting to know them. Her sense of humour was always present, even in something as mundane as a doctor’s appointment. It was with her until the very end.
Most of all, Phyllis was a mom. Her family was always top priority, and she gave all her love and commitment to raising her sons and making a warm, loving home.
She will be terribly missed.
Cremation has taken place. Visitation will be held on Sunday, April 13th from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. in Atlantic Funeral Home, 6552 Bayers Rd., Halifax. The funeral service will take place in the funeral home chapel on Monday, April 14th at 2 p.m., Rev. James Haughn officiating.
In lieu of sending flowers, please make a donation to the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation.
Online condolences may be made by visiting www.atlanticfuneralhome.com, Halifax Chapel.
