Phyllis Y. Preston

Phyllis Yvonne (Agnew) Preston passed from this life on November 8, 2023.  She was 99 years old and had her loving son and daughter in law beside her at the Jewish Senior life Center in Des Moines, IA. A funeral service will be at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, November 18, 2023 at Caldwell Parrish Funeral Home in Urbandale, IA. A visitation will be at 10:00 a.m. until the time of the service. Interment will be 2:00 p.m., Saturday, November 18, 2023 at the West Fairview Cemetery in Lenox, IA.

Phyllis was born on July 10, 1924 in Creston, Iowa, her parents were Charlotte and John Agnew.  An only child, her family knew poverty during the Great Depression, as did many.  She was an excellent student and graduated CHS Class of 1942 Co-Valedictorian.  While there, she met her high school sweetheart and  future husband, Richard. Following the war, she worked to put him through college and medical school.   Living initially in Ann Arbor, Michigan, they relocated to Des Moines to be closer to family.  She was a loving wife and mother and an accomplished businesswoman who managed her husband’s medical practice for many years. She was an active member of the PEO and the Des Moines Women’s Club and attended West Des Moines United Methodist Church. She maintained her small town values of hard work, honesty,  humility, thriftiness and kindness all of her life and had many friends.  Always quick with a joke in hard times or good.

She was predeceased by her husband, and her oldest child, Deborah.  She is survived by her sons David (Phea) of Seattle, Washington and Mark (Teresa) of Urbandale as well as six grandchildren.  Hers was a long and productive life and she will be greatly missed by those who knew her.

In lieu of flowers please make donations to PEO Sisterhood or the Des Moines Women's Club.