Maxine Phillips

This service has been POSTPONED until a later date. The White House released “The President’s Coronavirus Guidelines for America - 15 Days to Slow the Spread.” Among these guidelines are that people “Avoid social gatherings in groups of more than 10 people” for the next 15 days. Maxine A. Phillips, age 94, of Decorah, IA, died Tuesday, March 10, 2020 at home in Decorah. Memorial Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, March 18, 2020 at Fjelstul Funeral Home in Decorah with Rev. Chad Huebner officiating. Inurnment will be in Lutheran Cemetery later this spring. Visitation begins on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m., one hour before the service, at Fjelstul Funeral Home. Maxine Alouise (Tovson) Phillips was born on February 18, 1926 in Decorah, IA, the daughter of Oscar and Melvina (Ness) Tovson. She was baptized and confirmed at First Lutheran Church and attended Decorah High School. Maxine was united in marriage to William Phillips on December 28, 1945. They were blessed with five children: Lyle, Linda, Sharon, Vickie and Cathy. Maxine was a stay at home mom. She enjoyed helping with Do-Day at First Lutheran Church, volunteering at Barthell Eastern Star Nursing Home, and she liked to travel, having visited Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri and Canada. She has lived in the Washington Court apartments for several years. She enjoyed getting together there in the common room to have a beer or coffee and visit with her friends. She liked working puzzles in the common room and helping decorate it at Christmas. She and Norma enjoyed putting together parties there for everyone at Halloween, New Year’s Eve and Valentine’s Day. Maxine loved to bake, especially lemon meringue pie, making krumkake at Christmas for the holidays, along with making all kinds of cookies. When she was raising her children, she did a lot of canning and always had lots of grape jam and apple butter. She enjoyed sharing her childhood memories, going on walks around town, and especially spending time with her grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her mother Melvina Tovson in 1989; her husband William Phillips in 1984; her daughter Sharon Benson in 2009; her sister Delores Keune in 2013; her brother Orrin Tovson in 2018; two grandchildren: Brian Phillips in 2007 and Rhonda Jermeland in 2008; two sons-in-law, Ronald Moen and Dennis Benson; and one daughter-in-law, Cathy Phillips. Maxine is survived by one son, Lyle Phillips of Bluffton, IA; three daughters: Linda M. Moen of Decorah, Vickie (Charles) Larson of Elgin, IA and Cathy (Brian) Gervais of Decorah; 12 grandchildren; 31 great-grandchildren; and 11 great great-grandchildren.