The walking talking phone book, anniversary, birthday dates and family's family tree scholar, passed away at 10PM April 14th, 2025. Phyllis Marlene (Dankenbring) Wright was born November 11, 1941 delivered by Dr. Peck in the old St. Francis hospital.

She attended St. Francis Grade School through the 5th grade, then her family moved 5 miles south of Wheeler, Kansas and 1/2 mile west. Then she and her brothers Milfred, Keith and Victor attended the county Prairie View district 23 school in 1951. The boys built a trailer to pull behind their bikes to carry school books and lunches. One time Milfred and Keith talked Phyllis into riding in the trailer. Both boys peddled together with their feet on top of each other's, which gave them more power to weave back and forth. Phyllis would slide back and forth and bump the wheels. When she got off of the trailer, she never rode again. Going from indoor plumbing to outhouse living was quite a change. When she entered the outhouse, her brothers would lock the privy and shake it, throwing clods while she screamed for MOMMA.

Phyllis graduated 8th grade at Prairie View and then started her freshman year in St. Francis High School. After her dad got tired of plowing bad roads and towing the car behind the tractor to highway 25, it was decided she would stay with Emma Bundhenke in St. Francis. Phyllis and a girlfriend, Virginia Felzien, stayed together through High School, graduating in 1960.

Gerald caught a glimpse of a lovely young girl working at Getty's Drug Store as the soda jerk. Phyllis and Gerald were married January 6, 1963 at Zion Lutheran church by Pastor Rice in St. Francis, Kansas. Boy did she get a surprise after they got married!

She learned that all Wright's worked as a team. She learned to disc and sweep with the tractor. She also drove a truck in the harvest fields and to the elevator, plus did the paper work. She rebelled quite a few times but she knew the work had to be done on time.

Phyllis, Gerald, Candy and Lynn Glasco became Luther League sponsors. Because of the large number of kids, the church bought a 26-passenger bus to take them to different Christian Church rallies. Rallies included Denver, the Nebraska State Hospital, the Texas Mackinsaw Bridge and Goodland to name a few.

Phyllis was a member of the Home Circle club most of her married life and was excited to help celebrate the club's 100-year anniversary in 2023. She was also secretary of the council of St. John's Lutheran Church for several years.

In 197 the AAM was organized. (American Agriculture Movement). Gerald and Phyllis met many wonderful people at the pep rallies in Campo, Springfield Colorado, Hays, Hill City, LaCross, Oakley, Sharon Springs, Goodland, St. Francis and Topeka, Kansas. Phyllis rode for the first time in a plane with Gerald. Twice was on the red I special with Richard and Deloris Bursch, our neighbors, to the Dulles airport north of Washington, D.C. and got to see the Super Sonic Concord Passenger plane land there.

In the fall of 1979, David and Deanna Nelsen and their 3 girls along with Phyllis, Gerald, Anita and Dale traveled to Washington D.C. to protest what the government was doing to the small farms and our communities. When we arrived from Fredrick, Maryland, with thousands of tractors and support vehicles from the north and south, we found our legal paper work that told where we were to park our tractors. The cops tore it up and with guns pointing at us, put everyone on the grassy Washington mall.  They had snipers on roof tops and helicopters flying overhead with search lights plus large Trash trucks circles the mall from the capital to the Washington monument, putting us in a vehicle enclosure jail. It was a very stressful situation to sleep in.

She was the mother of 2 children, Anita Diltz and Dale Wright and grandmother of 5 grandchildren and 2 Great Grandchildren.

Phyllis touched many lives and will be missed tremendously.