Age 99, of Elm Grove, passed away on February 8, 2018.  She was born in Heber City, Utah, in 1918 to George Andrew and Annie McMillan Fisher.   She married Ralph S. Heath, Jr. in October of 1940.

In 1936, Phyllis graduated from West High School, Salt Lake City, UT and was honored by the Salt Lake Tribune as one of two outstanding graduating seniors in a class of 1000.   She served as vice president of her junior class, as president of the West High School Girls Association and received three oratorical awards.  In 2006, she was named an outstanding alumna by the West High School Alumni Association.

Phyllis was a 1940 graduate of the University of Utah with a degree in Business Administration.  She later earned a Master’s Degree in Business Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  Phyllis served as a high school business teacher with the Milwaukee Public Schools for eight years and was then named the first Supervisor of the MPS Cooperative Office Education Program.  This program placed 350 high school students in a supervised work experience with area businesses for half-a-day while permitting them to complete their high school graduation requirements in their local high schools for the remainder of the day.  Upon her retirement in 1981, Phyllis was honored by representatives from 20 Milwaukee area businesses and law firms at a luncheon in her honor.

Phyllis was active in business education, serving on the State Superintendent’s Business and Office Advisory Committee for twelve years, the Secretarial Science Advisory Committee of the Milwaukee Area Technical College for twelve years, the Administrative Management Society’s Education Advisory Committee for thirteen years; the Greenfield High School Business Education Advisory Committee for five years and the North Central Evaluation Committee for Greendale, Monona Grove, Oconomowoc and West Allis High Schools.

She was a charter member of the Word Processing Society and a national delegate of Delta Pi Epsilon, a business fraternity.  In 1978, Phyllis was honored by the Wisconsin Business Education Association as the Wisconsin Business Educator of the year.

Active in Delta Delta Delta Sorority, she was president of the University of Utah collegiate chapter and also served as president of the Delta Delta Delta Milwaukee Alumnae Chapter.

After retirement, she was an active member of the Hales Corners Woman’s Club and the Suburban Woman’s Club of Wauwatosa.  She was an active participant and served as president of the Mitchell Field Women of Rotary and was a member and twice president of the Inner Wheel Club of Brookfield, a national organization composed of spouses of Rotarians.

Phyllis was preceded in death by her husband, Ralph S. Heath Jr., her mother, father, sister and two brothers.  Phyllis is further survived by two daughters, Georgeann Mullally (Dr. Lee J.) retired principal of Lawton Chiles Elementary School, Gainesville, FL:  Susan Alexander (John W.), past principal of Nicolet High School and retired superintendent of schools in Markesan WI; and a son, Ralph S. Heath III (Joni) of LaCrosse, WI, writer and author of Celebrating Failure:  The Power of Taking Risks, Making Mistakes and Thinking Big.   Phyllis is also survived by five grandchildren:  Lee J. Mullally, Jr. (Chris);  Scott D. Alexander (Elizabeth);  Erin L. Heaney (Bryan);  Analee Heath Leach (Chris) and Natalie Heath Trevino (John), along with five great-grandchildren, L.J. Mullally III, Olivia K. Tisher, Aydin J. Heaney, Charles J. Alexander, Sydney K. Leach and Ayla V. Heaney.  A sixth great-grandchild will be welcomed into the family in April 2018.

Services celebrating the life of Phyllis Fisher Heath will be held in June, 2018.

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