Phyllis J. Burkholder, 87, of Leola passed away early Tuesday morning, January 23rd, 2024 at the Neffsville Nursing and Rehab Center. Born in Adamstown, she was a daughter of the late Charles and Pauline (Sweitzer) Horst. Phyllis was the loving wife of Wayne B. Burkholder for 64 years.
Phyllis graduated from Ephrata High School, class of 1954. She and Wayne married in 1959 and moved to Camp LeJeune, NC for a year during Wayne’s deployment in the US Marines. Phyllis was a homemaker until her children were grown. She later worked at the Colebrook Terry Factory in Akron, then Garden Spot Distributors in Martindale for 10 years until her retirement in 2002. Phyllis enjoyed spending her free time working on word searches, puzzles and watching the Gameshow Channel. She looked forward to visiting her son in the mountains of Shunk, PA. Phyllis was a fan of Philadelphia sports, and a superfan of Elvis Presley. Phyllis had a fun personality, always “Takin Care of Business,” and will be deeply missed.
Phyllis is survived by her husband, Wayne B. Burkholder; five children: April D. Reiff (Mervin) of New Holland; Brent B. Burkholder (Jean) of Ephrata; Chris B. Burkholder of Shunk; Andrew B. Burkholder (Melinda) of Denver; and Denise B. Givler (Brian) of Lititz; nine grandchildren: Autumn, Daisy, Brent Jr., Rory, Jordan, Summer, Brianna, Courteney, Brady; and six great-grandchildren. Phyllis was predeceased by two sisters, Gloria Adams and Margaret ‘Peggy’ Sensenig; and a brother, Charles Horst.
A visitation will take place on Wednesday, January 31st from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. followed by a Celebration of Life service at Gravenor Sipler Funeral & Cremation Centre, Inc., 100 W. Main Street, Ephrata, PA.
