Phyllis Lee Marchi's Obituary
Phyllis Lee MarchiPhyllis Lee Marchi, 72, from Pescadero, California, passed away May 18, 2011, at Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto, California, following a sudden cardiac arrest. Phyllis was born on June 10, 1938, on an American Indian Reservation in Yuma, California, to parents Geneva and Melvin Stanley. Phyllis was English and American Indian, from the Otoe, Sioux and Cherokee tribes. The middle child of three, Phyllis lived with her parents, Geneva and Melvin Stanley, and siblings Barbara Stanley and Melvin Stanley Jr. Her father was a fireman on the railroad and then an engineer, so the family moved around a lot, living in Utah, San Bernadino, Richmond, and Fresno, California and Red Rock, Oklahoma before moving to Santa Cruz, California. While growing up in Fresno, Phyllis took steel guitar lessons, and it was in Richmond that she first learned how to ride a bicycle. While living in Red Rock, Phyllis' father learned that they were hiring engineers in Wichita, Kansas, so he went ahead to Wichita to work while Phyllis and her siblings stayed with their Aunt Thelma in Red Rock. In Red Rock, they had an outhouse, no running water and used kerosene lamps for light. It was in Red Rock that Phyllis picked wild pecans and, and along with her siblings, sold gunnysacks of wild pecans for $5 a sack. She then moved to Santa Cruz, where she graduated from Santa Cruz High School and met her husband of 44 years, Natalino Marchi. She and her husband lived in Pescadero. In Pescadero, Phyllis raised four children and was well-known for her leadership roles in the PTA and 4-H clubs, especially as a sewing leader for the Pescadero 4-H Club. While raising her children, she also co-owned Pete Marchi and Son farming business in Pescadero and, for many years, voluntarily cooked lunches each day for the business family members and other local farmers. Phyllis also graduated in the top three in her Dale Carnegie public-speaking class. She taught catechism through the Catholic Church and later completed many classes at Cabrillo College in Santa Cruz and the College of San Mateo in San Mateo, California. She is survived by her four children, Gary Marchi, Gerald Marchi, Peter Marchi and Natalie Sare; two daughters-in-law, Sherri Marchi and Deloris Ollari and a son-in-law Dan Sare; four gradchildren, Amber Illari, Melissa Marchi, Eric Marchi and Michael Sare; sister Barbara Thomas and a brother Melvin Stanley, sister-in-law Carole Stanley and brother-in-law Bud Thomas, half-brother George Colendich and numerous nieces and nephews who loved her very much. Phyllis is preceded in death by her mother, Geneva Stanley Colendich, her stepfather, George Colendich Sr., her father, Melvin Stanley, and stepmother Anne Stanley. Services include a Rosary at Our Lady of the Pillar Catholic Church on Kelly Avenue, Half Moon Bay, at 7 p.m. on Monday, May 30, 2011 with visitation from 5 to 7 p.m. A funeral Mass will be held at Our Lady of the Pillar Catholic Church at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, May 31, 2011, followed by a reception in the Vista Room from 3-6:30 p.m. at Skylawn Memorial Park on Highway 92 at Skyline Boulevard, San Mateo, CA. 94402. Burial is Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 11:30 a.m. at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery at 2271 - 7th Avenue, Santa Cruz, CA. 95062.
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