Phyllis June Nordstrom

“You raise me up”

Phyllis June Nordstrom, passed away quietly just before her 92nd birthday on 5 June 2023 with her three daughters at her bedside. Phyllis was born and raised in the Boston area. She was baptized, confirmed, and married in the Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Roxbury, Massachusetts. In the church, Phyllis was a member of the choir and developed lifetime friendships within the church’s Luther League. Despite humble beginnings, loss, and family hardship in her early years, Phyllis was raised by devoted and adoring parents. As such, she developed into a bright and engaging young girl who always shared her smile and beautiful singing voice.

During the summer of 1949, Phyllis traveled from Boston to the Åland Islands (Finland) to spend the summer of her 18th birthday with her grandmother, aunt, and cousin’s family. That trip changed the course of her life. While there, she met her future husband and the love of her life, Erik Alve Nordstrom. They married 4 years later in Boston and remained a happy and devoted couple for 68 years until Erik’s passing in October 2021.

While still dating Erik and continuing through their early years of marriage, Phyllis was so very proud to work for 6 years as a stenographer at the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Boston. During that time, while suffering an extended 9 month hospitalization due to illness, her wonderful co-workers stood by and supported her which forged Phyllis’s unbreakable appreciation and loyalty for the men and women of the FBI. A move to Rochester, New York, due to Erik’s early career and starting a family, ended her work with the FBI but her deep friendships remained. Once back in Boston, she quickly joined the Society of FBI Women and attended their regular socials and meetings for decades.

Soon after the birth of their first daughter, Phyllis and Erik moved back to Massachusetts to settle in Westwood. While there, they devoted their lives to raising their three daughters, June, Kirsten, and Sonja. Family life included spending summer weekends on Lake Winnipesaukee in the Chalet that Erik built, visits with relatives, attending lots of fiddle and other music events, and family trips to visit relatives on Åland. While raising her family, Phyllis also spent 8 years as a part-time student, graduating from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, with a degree in Psychology, class of 1977. Once her girls were in high school, college, and through college, Phyllis re-entered the working world as a career woman, first employed at a small psychiatric hospital in Westwood and later as the Executive Assistant to the Senior Vice President for EG&G. Her organizational skills were second to none!

In retirement, with her love of music still as strong as ever, Phyllis treated herself to a beautiful baby grand piano and took lessons from an accomplished pianist from Kiev. As with most who crossed Phyllis’s path, she and her teacher became dear friends. With her children grown and thriving in their own lives, Phyllis and Erik had more opportunity to share their passion for travel. They enjoyed many cruises and trips visiting friends around the country, but most often jet-setted around the world with Kirsten and her Delta Airlines buddies who always treated Phyllis and Erik like royalty.

Phyllis and Erik moved to Park City in 2002 where Kirsten had lived since the late 1980’s. June and family followed in 2003 and Sonja was able to join the family in late 2007. While in Park City, true to her social nature and love of music, Phyllis joined the Park City Singers and again, enjoyed not just the singing but also the friendships that she developed. Phyllis and Erik’s life in Park City included daily breaks at Starbucks visiting with their daughters and those who stopped by, enjoying dining around Park City, attending concerts and events, Park City Seniors luncheons, and most importantly sharing time with family. Another highlight each year for Phyllis was to attend the Sundance Film Festival. As much as she loved the movies, her enrichment and joy came from her visits with strangers as she waited in the long lines.

Despite all of her interests and skills, family was always Phyllis’s first priority. Losing her mother and brother early in life, she was as devoted to her father as he was to her, sharing holidays, birthdays, and Wednesday visits for coffee, violin, and organ sessions. In his final years, she was by his side daily until he passed. Phyllis nurtured and empowered each of her daughters, guiding and lifting them on to live their best lives: June, the amazing mother and grandmother that she was born to be; Kirsten, a violinist turned adventurous world traveler and athlete; and Sonja, a blend of both Phyllis and Erik, violinist turned Electrical Engineer turned FBI Special Agent.

Phyllis was known for her elegant style and her engaging and social personality. Her greatest gift was her ability to listen and help lift others. Even as her memory was failing her, she was still able to play lilting renditions of Edelweiss until her final weeks, lifting the spirits of others in her assisted living facility. Her life was full and rich with love, friends, music, travel, education, career, goals, and mostly the children and grandchildren whom she cherished.

Phyllis was predeceased in death by her beloved husband Erik, her parents Arthur and Elsa, and her only sibling Carl who passed at the young age of 17. She is survived by her adoring children June Nordstrom Player (husband Peter), Kirsten Nordstrom (partner Magic), and Sonja Nordstrom; two grandchildren, Erik (wife Kasia) and Stefanie (husband Cody); three great grandchildren Tyler, Ania, and Wild; and many nieces, nephews, and their children too in the U.S., Åland, Sweden, and Canada.

A private grave-side service will be held for immediate family on 17 June 2023. There will not be a viewing.

Flowers may be sent to Probst Funeral Homes, 79 East Main Street, Midway, UT 84049, telephone 435.654.5959 ( www.probstfamilyfunerals.com )
In lieu of flowers, donations to a charity of choice may be made in Phyllis’s name.