Phyllis May Ainsworth

AINSWORTH — Phyllis May (Kivett), 87; born Aug. 12, 1931, Mill City (Medford area), Ore.; died June 30, 2019, at Washington Odd Fellows Home, Walla Walla, Wash. Surviving: son and daughter-in-law, Kent and Ruth Ainsworth, Kalispell, Mont.; daughter and son-in-law, Liana (Ainsworth) and Brian St. Clair, Walla Walla; stepdaughter and stepson-in-law, Sharon and Cecil Maness, Pendleton, Ore.; stepdaughter-in-law, Pacita Ainsworth, Modesto, Calif.; brother, Bob Hodge, Jacksonville, Ore.; sister, Esther Marple, Thermopolis, Wyo.; sister and brother-in-law, Bea and Mike Downs, Jacksonville; 2 granddaughters, 2 step-granddaughters, 2 step-grandsons, 2 great-grandchildren and 9 step-great-grandchildren. 

Phyllis was preceded in death by her husband, Clarence B. Ainsworth; brother, Richard Kivett; stepson, Phil Ainsworth; and granddaughter, Kathy (Ainsworth) Narbona.

A memorial service will be at 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17, 2019, at Rancho Villa Clubhouse, 1250 Dalles Military Rd., Walla Walla, Wash. Inurnment will be in Bowlus Pioneer Cemetery, east of Milton-Freewater, Ore., next to the love of her life Clarence, who died Sept. 24, 1999. Memorial contributions may be made to Positive Life Radio.

Phyllis attended school in Pendleton, Ore., then Upper Columbia Academy (1945/1946) and graduated from Columbia Academy in 1949.

Phyllis completed her teaching certificate from Walla Walla College in 1950. She married Clarence B. Ainsworth, Aug. 12, 1954 on her birthday in Pendleton. After birth of her first child, Liana, they moved to Ten Sleep, Wyo., where Clarence’s family had homesteaded in the 1800s. She gave birth to her son, Kent, in Wyoming. She also had two stepchildren, Phil Ainsworth and Sharon Ainsworth. She graduated from Walla Walla College in 1969 with a B.S. in Elementary Education/Art. She taught school in Myrtle Creek, Ore., Sheridan, Wyo., Grants Pass, Ore., and in Benton Harbor, Mich. In retirement they returned to Milton-Freewater in 1994. Her passion was teaching children to read using phonics. She loved the Lord with all her heart. She enjoyed flower gardening, painting and reading. In her late 70s she began to lose her vision and loved listening to books on tape for the blind, Bible on CD and music on Positive Life Radio.