Phyllis Marie Daniel

Phyllis Marie Daniel, of Jackson TN, passed into eternal rest surrounded by her family on Thursday June 29th due to complications from her more than decade-long struggle with Parkinson’s disease. 

Phyllis was born on 8th December, 1949 in Kansas City, MO, to Dr. Dale Morris Yocum and L. Ilene (Dockum) Yocum, and spent her youth in Overland Park, Kansas, and on the mission field in Jamaica and South Korea. She graduated from Overland Christian High School, where she was a gifted student, particularly in language arts, and an accomplished pianist and organist. 

Phyllis was married for 26 years to Dr. G. Kenneth Marshall, with whom she shared four children, who she described as "wonderful, and the joys of [her] life." While raising those four children and serving as the organist and pianist at Longview (Texas) First Church of the Nazarene, Phyllis completed her Bachelor of Arts at East Texas Baptist University in 1991, and then earned her Master of Arts in Counseling from Stephen F. Austin State University in 1995. She used this training, along with her remarkable gifts of compassion, warmth, empathy, and insight to provide counseling services in Longview for over twenty years. When her first marriage ended, she continued to serve as organist, pianist, and choir member in Longview's First Baptist Church and later at the East Mountain Baptist Church in Gilmer, TX, a church community that she cherished. 

Phyllis married Timothy Andrew Daniel on April 28, 2001, a relationship that brought about a renewed zeal for life, and was marked by laughter, adventure, a shared love of word games, and music. As Phyllis became ill, her marriage to Tim blessed her and all those who loved her through Tim's beautiful, cheerful, unyielding, self-sacrificial dedication to her through over a decade of illness. It is an example of love that will endure long after the memories of her illness have faded. 

Phyllis is preceded in death by her father and mother, Dale and Ilene Yocum, and Carmen Joyce Howard, her younger sister, favorite piano duettist, and best friend, with whom she shared an almost telepathic connection. Their bond as a nuclear family was unusually strong, and one of the great pains of Phyllis's earthly life was that her father and sister were both taken from her by cancer at young ages. Their memories provided great joy to her in life, and the thought of their reunion now brings joy to those that loved Phyllis, Carmen, and the Yocums. 

Phyllis will be lovingly remembered by Tim, her husband of 22 years, as well as her children: daughter Andrea Laura (Marshall) Harper, son-in-law Scott Harper, granddaughter Darcy, daughter Ashley Joy (Marshall) Hinton, son-in-law Jeff Hinton, granddaughter Sydney, grandsons Lucas and Truman, son Ken Marshall, wife Lindsay Moore, granddaughter Edie, daughter Alyssa Marshall, as well as Phyllis's dear step-sons, Danny Daniel, daughter-in-law Paula, granddaughter Megan, step-son Grant Daniel, daughter-in-law Natalie, grandchildren Sienna, Maggie, Phineas, Phoebe, Tillie, and Jonas and finally, Phyllis's niece Deanna Marie Russell and nephew Stephen Dale Russell, in addition to many other extended family and friends. 

While she fought against the toll of Parkinson’s on her mind and body, Phyllis cherished and personified one of her favorite passages from II Corinthians (4:13-6:2): She never gave up. Though her body was dying, her spirit was being renewed every day, and she displayed an unmistakable, unshakeable faith that her earthly troubles preceded an eternal glory that will far outweigh them. Now, because she lived her life ever as Christ's ambassador, she surely rejoices that she has exchanged her enfeebled earthly body for the heavenly body she will wear for eternity in the presence of God. 

A memorial service will be held at 5PM on Sat July 8th at the Northside Church Chapel (2571 N Highland Ave, Jackson, TN). In accordance with Phyllis's wishes, in lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in her name to Harvest Partners / the Jesus Film at: https://www.jfhp.org/in-honor-memory/. 

The family wishes to thank the staff of Brookdale Assisted Living in Jackson, TN, for their compassionate care for Phyllis over the past three years. We are grateful for the many staff members who blessed her with their kind and dedicated care.

Arrington Funeral Directors, 148 W. University Pkwy., Jackson, TN 38305, 731.668.1111, www.arringtonfuneraldirectors.com

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