Phyllis Bleich Greenhalgh, 80, of Portland, ME and Berlin, CT, passed away peacefully on September 29, 2018, with family at her side. She will be dearly missed, along with her kind and gentle spirit, her creativity, and her life-long dedication to family and friends. Phyllis was born in Cleveland Heights, OH, on July 1, 1938.
A graduate of the Beaumont School in Cleveland, OH, she went on to earn a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts from Ohio State University. After living in Columbus and Cleveland, OH, and Ann Arbor and Lansing, MI, she moved to Farmington, CT where she lived before moving to Berlin, CT in the 1990s and to the Portland, ME area in early 2018. In addition to her roles as homemaker and parent, she worked in various fields over the years, including library services, banking, office reception, and arts instruction.
Her unselfish commitment to the needs of friends, family members, and even strangers, was one of the hallmarks of her life, and she provided extraordinary companionship and care to her mother, father, husband, and sister through the end of their lives. She also expressed her love, kindness, and creativity through her artwork. From oil and silkscreen work in her younger days, and crafts, painting and basket weaving in the middle of her life, to her watercolors and gardening in more recent years, Phyllis truly shined as an artist, and her spirit will live on in our memories and in the tangible works of art she has left behind.
Phyllis Bleich Greenhalgh was the beloved daughter of the late Mary Butler and Ferdinand Bleich; the beloved sister of Nancy Murphy, of Novi, MI, and the late Mary Jo Tormey, of Plainville, CT; and the beloved wife of the late Harvey Greenhalgh, of Berlin, CT. She is survived by her sons Matthew Jaynes, of Fountain Hills, AZ, and Marcus Jaynes, with her daughter-in-law Rebecca Jaynes and her grandsons, Christopher and Cayden Jaynes, of Falmouth, ME. She also leaves behind her nephew Brian Murphy, of Basking Ridge, NJ, and her late nephews Patrick and Michael Murphy), along with grand-nephews/nieces Christopher, Thomas, and Caroline Murphy (children of Brian and Graceann Murphy), Sean and Ben Murphy (sons of Patrick Murphy), and Melaney Murphy (daughter of Michael Murphy); as well as her step-sons Peter Greenhalgh (with his wife Stacey Stuart), of Nantucket, MA, and Bruce Greenhalgh (with his wife Erin Greenhalgh and their children Kathleen, Megan, and Jack), of Sandwich, MA.
During the last year of her life, following the death of her sister Mary Jo Tormey in CT, she relocated to Maine, where she lived near her son, Marcus Jaynes, and his family, and had her own apartment at The Woods at Canco, in Portland, Maine, an independent senior-living community where she had a number of wonderfully compassionate caregivers and friends. The times Phyllis spent with Marcus and Rebecca, and her grandsons Christopher and Cayden during her final months – including her son Matthew’s visit to Maine for her 80th birthday in July – are truly cherished and remind us of the precious gifts of family. A funeral mass will be held on Saturday, October 6, at 1:00 p.m., at Holy Martyrs Church, 266 Foreside Rd, Falmouth ME, followed by a 2:30 p.m. reception and celebration of Phyllis’ life at the home of Marcus and Rebecca Jaynes, 147 Mountain Rd, Falmouth ME.
Online condolences may be expressed at www. athutchins.com/. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hospice of Southern Maine (www.
hospiceofsouthernmaine.com) or the Father Nadolny Good News Fund (fathernadolnygoodnews.com/). Burial will be held privately at a later date.
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