Phyllis Gean Gowens was born April 21, 1943 in Boulder, Colorado to Chris and Cora (Larson) Evanoff. Her mother Cora passed away from ovarian cancer when Phyllis was only 4 years old. Phyllis and her sister Sonja were raised by her father and older sister Jessie. After graduating from High School, she attended what is now Nelson University, a Christian college, in Waxahachie, Texas. She later married David Gowens, who was serving in the US Navy at the time, eventually making it back to Boulder. Later after divorcing David, she met the love of her life, Jim and cherished him until he passed away from cancer.
Phyllis loved life and loved to be silly! Feisty and stubborn, she had a tremendous heart of gold. Phyllis battled spina bifida her entire life, but she never let it stop her. Phyllis was determined to live a full life. She loved to travel and experience as much of life as possible. She worked hard and tirelessly until retirement and took great pride in her work. Music was a big part of her life as well, especially Dwight Yoakum and Elvis. She loved to play Bingo and hit a casino on occasion and an avid scrabble enthusiast. She embraced life and enjoyed it to the fullest and loved spending time with family.
Being the “big kid” at heart, her motto was always “eat dessert first”! And she did! She never met a dessert she didn’t like! Much to the dismay of her niece and later her great nieces and nephews! She loved Eeyore and Winnie the Pooh, along with Mickey Mouse and friends. You would often see her wearing a caricature t-shirt.
A tender heart, a sweet spirit and the tenacity to live life to the fullest Phyllis, beat the odds living to the age of 82 years old. She was a faithful servant to God above.
Phyllis was proceeded in death by her father and mother, sisters Jessie, Sonja and Inez, young brother Chris. She is survived by her brother in law Larry Kaiser, niece Tammy (Tim) Paczkowski, great niece Kayla (Bob), great nephews; Josh (Barb), Gabe (Andrea), Daniel (Hannah), Timmy (Mao); Great, great nieces Taylor, Ashley, Everly, Gracelyn, and Faith; Great, great nephews Alex, Max, Luke and Charlie.
A special note of thanks to Benedictine Assumption Home and those who cared for her and for the friends she made during her time there.
A celebration of life will be held for the family.
