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Phyllis Riley Gustafson impacted many people with her service and compassion.
“Her mission in life was to look for any opportunity to connect people with those who could help them,” husband Carl Gustafson said. “Caring and empathy drove her.”
Gustafson died unexpectedly on Feb. 2 at the age of 64.
Born in Ankara, Turkey, to an Air Force family, her early years were spent overseas.
“She lived in a home that encouraged giving and sharing, and her love for traveling probably came from those times,” Carl Gustafson said.
Gustafson’s family moved to San Antonio when she was in grade school.
“We initially met at John Marshall High School,” her husband said. Gustafson had just transferred to the school in her junior year. “We are seven days apart in age and were in the same class,” her husband said.
Although new to the school she quickly became a part of the culture. An honors student, she joined the cheerleading squad and was voted homecoming queen for her 1970 graduating class.
She left to get a degree in sociology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1974. It would be 20 years before she and her husband reconnected.
Gustafson started a career in social work after college, helping families and children, her husband said. She left to become a sales representative for various companies. It was during that time that she met her husband, in 1990, at a First Baptist Church singles group. Her compassion drew her to him, he said.
The couple’s 24-year marriage started in 1993. Gustafson continued to work in sales, selling supplemental medical insurance to the elderly. She later left, to take a marketing position at Ace Mart Restaurant Supply where her husband is part owner. Not only did the couple work together at the company but they were active church members.
“At Community Bible Church, she was a group facilitator of Grief Care,” a group that helps people going through hard times, her husband said. She also traveled to Chiapas, Mexico, and Guiana to help others.
Gustafson also volunteered at the San Antonio Pregnancy Care Center.
“Phyllis was on the front lines with the late-night calls and making appointments for the girls to meet with a counselor at the center,” her husband said.
Phyllis Riley Gustafson
Born: May 31, 1952, Ankara, Turkey
Died: Feb. 2, 2017, San Antonio
Survived by: Husband Carl Gustafson; parents Joe and Avis Riley; sisters Pam Henley and brother-in-law Steve and Julie Riley Delpho and brother-in-law Jon; daughter Amanda Pignato and son-in-law John; three grandchildren and numerous family and friends
Services: Visitation 6 p.m. Monday at Porter Loring Mortuary North, 2102 North Loop 1604 East. Memorial service 9:30 a.m. Tuesdayat Community Bible Church, 2477 North Loop 1604 East, followed by burial at Mission Burial Park North, 20900 IH-10 West.
The organization reported at their annual banquet that over 300 women decided to keep their babies, he said.
“She made a tremendous impact on a lot of lives.”
iwilgen@express-news.net
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