Phyllis “Phyl” Brockway Stevenson died peacefully at the age of 96 in Lexington, Massachusetts, on September 19, 2020. Born in Melbourne, Australia, Phyllis grew up primarily in the Perth area of Western Australia. Early in World War II, 16-year-old Phyllis put her age up two years to become one of the first women in Western Australia to join the newly formed Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force. There she served as a radio operator and met Paul “Steve” Stevenson, a U.S. Navy radioman who had served throughout the Pacific theater. She and Steve married in Australia in 1942 and sailed to the U.S. with daughter Patricia in 1944.
Phyllis became a U.S. citizen in 1949 and continued a wide range of professional and volunteer activities. In the 1950s, when Steve opened a television and radio repair business in rural Pennsylvania, Phyllis became the first woman to complete the new “color television” repair courses offered by the RCA Institute. Many of Steve’s customers never knew that she handled some of the shop repairs while he was making service calls. As a busy mom of three daughters, Phyllis was also an active volunteer in after-school activities while contributing freelance articles to local newspapers.
In the 1960s, the family moved to Waukegan, Illinois, where Phyllis continued her studies and work in journalism, becoming a freelance writer, feature writer, investigative reporter, and columnist for regional newspapers. Her work earned ten local, regional, and national journalism awards, including a national Lerner Award for best continuing editorial column. She also received a Golden Quill Award and was named to the Golden Dozen, the top 12 editorial writers chosen by the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors. Phyllis also helped to found the Lake County Association of Journalists.
In 1973, Phyllis became Director of the Lake County Citizens Crime Commission, the first woman in the U.S. to hold such a position. Her local investigations and work with state and federal law enforcement agencies led to the convictions of several local officials. Her efforts also led to reforms in the county judicial system as well as establishment of a county-wide drug treatment program and a county-wide Human Services Council. Phyllis wrote guides to the court system for the public, conducted in-depth analyses of programs for juvenile offenders, and published profiles of the struggles of drug addicts. In 1979, she was appointed Executive Director of the National Association of Citizens Crime Commissions, the first woman to hold that position.
Phyllis’s other activities included helping to found the Illinois Dunesland Preservation Society and a Waukegan Park District committee focused on addressing a hazardous former landfill that later became an EPA Superfund site. During this time Phyllis received multiple civic and public service awards. She and Steve continued to pursue their long-term hobbies of rock collecting and amateur radio (Phyl was WB9UAE to Steve’s WB9UAD). They founded the Inland Seas Chapter of the Society of Wireless Pioneers (SOWP) and a new publication, the Inland Seas Beacon, now published as the SOWP’s Worldwide Beacon.
When Phyllis retired in the 1980s, she and Steve continued to pursue their love of travel. They roamed the U.S. for almost ten years in a motorhome, taking periodic breaks for overseas trips, including visits to family in Australia. They finally settled close to family in the Midwest, first near St. Paul, Minnesota, and then in La Crosse, Wisconsin, where they filled their lives with volunteer work and other activities. They volunteered at WLSU for Wisconsin Public Radio, participated in the Strong Seniors exercise program, and were active in Learning in Retirement at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse. After Steve’s death, Phyllis continued these interests until 2017, when she moved close to family in Massachusetts. With her indomitable spirit, sense of humor, warmth, and generosity, Phyllis made friends easily wherever she went. We will all miss her.
Phyllis was predeceased in 2010 by her husband of 67 years, Paul “Steve” Stevenson. She is survived by daughters Patricia Moseley of La Mirada, California, Janet Olsen of Winchester, Massachusetts, and Katherine Stevenson of La Crosse, Wisconsin; by three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren; by half-brothers Peter Kohn and Rodger Kohn of Australia; and by close friends she regarded as family.
Phyllis’s wish to keep friends and family safe during the COVID-19 pandemic led to postponement of any group service after her death. Instead, with close family in attendance, Phyllis and Steve were placed together in the Memorial Park columbarium at Oak Grove Cemetery in La Crosse. A joint memorial celebration will be held in the future to honor their combined 195 years of life, love, service, humor, and wisdom. In keeping with her emphasis on helping others, Phyllis requested that any memorial contributions be directed to organizations that support veterans, or those in need.