Phyllis Faye Prendergast
1951-2020
A bright light was dimmed on December 14, 2020, with the
passing of Phyllis Faye (Lawson) Prendergast of Fredericton. While
most obituaries begin with how a person has died, Phyllis’s
family, loved ones, and friends felt hers needed to start with how she
lived.
Phyllis was born in Woodstock on February 1, 1951, the eldest
child to proud parents Willard and the late Marion (Sheppard) Lawson
of Grafton, NB.
Phyllis loved music as much as she loved her
community.
She moved to Fredericton in 1970, and quickly became a
“face of Fredericton.”
She loved the city and worked tirelessly to support the many
causes that touched her heart. She lent her talents to Pension
Coalition NB, the Canadian Cancer Society, Meals on Wheels, the
Scarlett Sisters, and the Happy Hatters. Phyllis never met a music
event she didn’t love. She helped out with anything
organizers needed. She offered her time and administrative skills to
the River Jam Music Festival, the Dooryard Arts and Music Festival,
the Shivering Songs Festival, and the Larlee Creek Hullabaloo Music
Festival. She was best known for her dedication to the Harvest Jazz
and Blues Festival. For 27 years, Phyllis was a driving force within
that organization, including taking on the role of festival chair for
a year, a job she was immensely proud of.
Phyllis was a graduate from Southern Carleton Regional High
School and the Carleton County Vocational School. She began her career
as a civil servant with the Province of New Brunswick right after
school, and spent more than 30 years at the New Brunswick Department
of Health. She enjoyed the camaraderie of work, but she loved
retirement, as it gave her more time to volunteer, but also to be with
her granddaughters, her father, her friends, and provided more
opportunity to spoil her husband, Ronnie.
Meeting Phyllis meant meeting an instant friend. She gave the
best hugs – a trait she inherited from her father, whom she
adored. She gifted many friends and family members with her knitted
art, and enjoyed good, long, fast-paced walks. She worked hard to keep
herself healthy, keeping her diabetes in check, and, in doing so,
provided inspiration to others.
She loved her four legged children, and mourned Tammy,
Bitters, Tyson and her cat Amanda when they crossed over to Rainbow
Bridge.
Phyllis passed away at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital in
Fredericton after a brief battle with cancer.
She is survived by the love of her life, and husband of 48
years, Ronnie; son, Mark of Fredericton; granddaughters, Emily
Greenlaw Prendergast of Bayside, and Olivia McDonald-Prendergast of
Shemogue; father, Willard Lawson of Grafton; brothers Guy Lawson
(Judy) of Grafton, Dale Lawson (Susan) of Woodstock, Terry Lawson
(Priscilla) of Bathurst, Danny Lawson of Fredericton, Chris Lawson
(Heather) of Woodstock; sister Cindy Kinney (Kirk) of Woodstock; Aunts
Joyce Sewell (Ralph) of Pembroke, and Carol Likely of Fredericton;
Uncles Frank Lawson (Fredericton), and Lloyd (Wilma) Lawson of
Grafton, and several nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her
mother, Marion (Sheppard) Lawson.
The family would like to thank Phyllis’s dear
friends Samantha Norrad, Carolann Doherty, and Susan Duplacey, as well
as those who have sent prayers, cards, and phone calls during this
difficult time. Special thanks to the doctors, nurses, and staff of
4SW at the DECH, who provided excellent and compassionate care.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the Carleton Funeral Home and
Crematorium. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, there will be no visitation
or funeral at this time. Interment will take place in the spring of
2021, where her ashes will be interred at the Lawson-Ballentine
Cemetery, Bull Lake, NB.
In lieu of flowers expressions of sympathy can be made to
Meals on Wheels, the Canadian Cancer Society, or the charity of the
donor’s choice.
www.carletonfuneralhome.ca
“Serving All Faiths & within the Means of All”
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Phyllis Faye Prendergast 19512020..
Death notice for the town of: Jacksonville, Province: Nouveau-Brunswick