Phyllis Salley

WAUBAY – Phyllis Salley, 94 of Watertown and formerly of Waubay, passed away Saturday November 9, 2019 at Jenkins Living Center in Watertown. ***NOTE SERVICE LOCATION****A graveside service will be held at 2:00 P.M Thursday July 2, 2020 at Lakewood Cemetery near Waubay. Phyllis Louise Sommers was born on May 19, 1925 to Joseph and Esther (Wagner) Sommers at Aberdeen, South Dakota. She was baptized and confirmed in the Catholic Faith. She attended school in Aberdeen graduating from Aberdeen Central in 1943. After graduation, she moved to Vancouver, Washington building ships as a crane operator. This is where she met her future husband Doug Salley. On May 19, 1944, Phyllis and Doug were married and to this union four children were born. The family moved to Minnesota for a short time until moving back to Aberdeen. In 1955, the family relocated to Waubay, South Dakota. Phyllis worked at Power Produce and later at Lake Area Hospital in in Webster in the dietary department. Doug passed away in 1978. Phyllis continued to live in Waubay and retired in 1987. After her retirement she would spend summers in Waubay and winters in Arizona alongside her companion Brad Bisgard. In 2017, she moved to Watertown. Phyllis passed away Saturday Novembr 9, 2019 at Watertown, South Dakota at the age of 94 years, 5 months, and 21 days. She will be forever loved and greatly missed by her children; Duane “Swede” Salley of Minnetonka, MN, Louise (Richard) Walters and Carol (Paul) Tidemann both of Mesa, AZ. She is also survived by 13 grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, her beloved husband Doug, son Dennis, grandson Dennis Jr., and three great-grandsons. This past April her dear friend and companion Brad Bisgard also joined her in heaven.