Phyllis Arlene Kummerow, 83, of Bainbridge Island died Friday, April 6, 2018 at Harrison Medical Center, Bremerton, surrounded by her family.

Born on Oct. 14, 1934 in Waterloo, New York she was the daughter of the late Russell and Hazel (Johnson) Jones. After growing up in the Finger Lakes region of New York, Phyllis attended Mynderse Academy in Seneca Falls after which she studied nursing at both Syracuse University and St. Lukes Hospital in Utica, NY.

Phyllis would later join the United States Navy, where she would put her nursing education to the test, serving her country in several East Coast naval hospitals and also being stationed for two years in Taipei, Taiwan. Her service would later earn her the rank of lieutenant commander and the Naval Achievement Medal.

She also served at Quantico, Virginia and Jamestown, Virginia during her naval xareer.

During her service time, Phyllis would achieve something else she hadn’t planned and that was to meet the love of her life Ray while crossing the Pacific Ocean onboard a U.S. naval ahip. Ray Gilbert Kummerow was serving in Norfolk while Phyllis was stationed at Bremerton Naval Hospital during their courtship and were married in Rockville, Maryland. The two were married for 50 years at the time of her passing.

In 1979, Phyllis and her family moved to Bainbridge Island where she was employed as a ward nurse at Messenger House along with raising her three children — Phillip, Eric and Grant — and caring for her mother Hazel and mother-in-law Ruth.

A founding member of the Navy Nurse Corps Association, Phyllis enjoyed volunteering at the Bainbridge Island Bargain Boutique for Seattle Children’s Hospital. She was also an avid reader and enjoyed being part of book clubs, as well as many other activities with her dear friends. What she loved most however, was being a wife, mother, grandmother and nurse.

Phyllis is survived by her loving husband Ray; her three sons, Phillip and wife Deborah, Eric, and Grant and wife Diane; along with her beloved grandchildren, Lindsay, Aidan, James, and Claire.

Services and interment will be private at the request of the family.

Donations in her memory may be made to:

Seattle Children’s Hospital Commemorative Giving and Research Foundation, PO Box 5371, Seattle WA, 98145-5005;

Bainbridge Public Library at http://www.bainbridgepubliclibrary.org/make-a-donation.aspx; and

Navy Nurse Corps Association, PO Box 3289, Newport, RI 02840.

Arrangements are entrusted to Cook Family Funeral Home.

Friends may sign the guest book at cookfamilyfuneralhome.com.