Phyllis Vernelle Sturm
On Monday, Oct. 31, 2022, Phyllis Vernelle Sturm, loving wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, went home to her Lord and Savior at the age of 88, with her devoted husband, Jack, by Jesus’s side, welcoming her home.
Phyllis was born on July 17, 1934, in Kent, to Hugh and Martha Joiner, and passed away in Deland, Fla.
After living for a short time in Kent, Shallersville and Harlan Springs, Ohio, the Joiner family, including Phyllis’s older sister, Ethlyn, her younger brother, Philip, and her younger sister, Nina, moved to Middlefield when Phyllis was in the first grade.
They grew up in the country in an 150-year-old farm house, with an old barn and an outhouse out back. They had fruit trees and a large vegetable garden every year, so Phyllis found herself weeding the garden and then canning and freezing the harvest from the garden and fruit trees.
Phyllis shared an attic bedroom with Ethlyn and would play cowboys and Indians for hours with her brother and a neighbor boy, Jerry Lucht.
Phyllis went to school at Middlefield School in town. The best thing about school was meeting the boy that would later be her husband.
Their family “vacations” consisted of going to the Ohio Valley and visiting family or having the family come up, to go hunt and be together.
Phyllis’s first job was at 14 years of age, in the Middlefield Sale Barn, working for Mrs. Florence Lucht in the restaurant.
Phyllis married Jack Sturm on May 5, 1951, in Middlefield. They raised two children, a daughter, Linda, and a son, Kenneth.
If Phyllis had to work, it would be on the weekends at the local White Brothers Grocery Store, while Jack watched their children. Otherwise, she was determined to be home for her family when they came home from school and work each day.
Phyllis and Jack moved to different houses a few times over the 35 years they lived in Middlefield as a family.
Phyllis was involved with the Middlefield Historical Society and was active at the Hambden Alliance Church, the Windham Alliance Church and the Middlefield Methodist Church. She especially loved to sing in the choir.
Phyllis and Jack wanted to move closer to family and left Middlefield in 1986, after Jack retired from working at the Johnson Rubber Company, and eventually settled in Cleveland, Ga., for 25 years, to be near their son, Ken, and his family.
Phyllis loved spending time with her family. While still in Middlefield, family picnics at her parents’ house each Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day found the family enjoying eating, playing games, sharing stories and eating some more.
Many summers found Phyllis and Jack, and her parents in a little cabin on the Trent River in Campbells Ford, Quebec, Canada, for a week for fishing, family-time and the best tasting fish ever.
After moving to Cleveland, Ga., Phyllis worked as the office manager at the Gainesville Care Center for a few years, a job she greatly enjoyed. Phyllis loved Georgia, the weather, the mountains, and the people. They had a house with a big screened porch, surrounded by three acres of trees, off a little dirt road. She and Jack were active in church and had dear friends there. Unfortunately, in 2012, Phyllis suffered a stroke that was serious, and their lives changed unexpectantly.
Phyllis and Jack moved to Florida to live with their daughter, Linda, and their son-in-law, David. Jack was determined to continue to provide for Phyllis and care for her, even after it was not safe for him to continue to do so. Linda and David provided the needed care for Linda’s parents for close to 10 years and are so grateful for the extra time the Lord allowed them to have with her parents.
Phyllis loved to read, even though her memory was affected by the stroke, and she didn’t remember what she read. She also would go for short walks using her walker, go out to lunch with Linda, and then go to Hobby Lobby and Goodwill.
Phyllis and Jack were very happy attending the Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Deland and Phyllis enjoyed the ladies Bible studies they would have. Best of all, she loved going to family events, dance recitals, piano recitals, soccer games, flag football games, whole family vacations at Cocoa Breach and celebrating birthdays, holidays and baptisms together as a family — and don’t forget, eating together.
Phyllis’ walk with the Lord started when she was younger but grew over her lifetime. Her trust and confidence in the Lord and His plan for her life and that of her family had been tested and tried many times throughout her life. She had experienced all that life had to offer. She made very difficult decisions and chose wisely. God blessed her and God has blessed those she loved. She ran her race well!
Phyllis was preceded in death by her loving husband, Jack Sturm; son, Kenneth Sturm; sister, Ethlyn Lucht; niece Jeanette Nevinski; nephew Mitchell Lucht; brother, Philip Joiner and his wife, Fran Joiner; younger sister Nina’s husband, Gary Shipman and their son, Greg Shipman; her father, Hugh Joiner; mother, Martha Joiner; paternal grandparents, Guy and Edith Joiner; and maternal grandparents, Sherman and Pearl Sperry.
She is survived by her daughter, Linda (David) Brown, of Deland, Fla.; and her son’s wife, Gail Sturm, of Oakwood, Ga.; five grandchildren, Jennifer, Michael, Andrew, Kevin and Kurtis; 13 great-grandchildren, Molly, Adelyn, Audrey, Josiah, Macie, Konner, Elijah, Luke, Eliana, Oliver, Sophie, Levi and Marissa; and many extended family members.
A Celebration of Life Service will be held honoring Phyllis’s home-going at the Deltona Alliance Church in Deltona, Fla., on Dec. 29, 2022, at 10 a.m. The service will be available for viewing at HTTPS://cutt.ly/phylissturm.
Phyllis and Jack will be laid to rest at the Middlefield Cemetery, in Middlefield, this coming summer.
In lieu of flowers, the family would like to request donations to be given to The Central Florida Pregnancy Center, P. O. Box 5343, Deltona, FL 32728, or through their website at cfpregnancycenter.org/donate.
