Phyllis Annette Webster Thonney, daughter of Charles Franklin (Frank) Webster and Helen Viola Brewer Webster, was born in Yakima, WA on 26 October 1928 and died on 29 June 2015 in Pullman, WA. Her father was a graduate of Washington State College (WSC) and managed the Skutter Ranch Dairy east of Yakima. Her mother, also a graduate of WSC and with a master's degree in microbiology from Stanford, died when Phyllis was seven years old. While her mother was ill and after her mother's death, Phyllis often stayed with her grandparents – Alonzo and Helen Brewer of Grandview, WA. When Phyllis was 10 her father married Jane Logie whose daughters Louise (3 weeks older) and Isabel (4 years younger) Martens joined the family. They moved to Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands where Frank Webster began his career as an agricultural extension agent, ultimately serving in several other counties so that Phyllis grew up in several places in western and central Washington.

Phyllis graduated from Yakima High School and started college at WSC in Pullman in 1946. On 5 June 1948 she interrupted her education to marry Larry R. Thonney, son of a local Pullman farmer. Until 2005, she lived on the Thonney family homestead three miles from Pullman toward Moscow, ID. There she raised four children: Michael of Ithaca, NY; Sarah Fortin (Eddie) of Mason, NH; Steven (Kathy) of Prosser, WA; and Janet Adams (Bill) of Pullman, WA. In 2005, anticipating state plans to raze the homestead house to construct a divided highway between Pullman and Moscow, Phyllis and Larry purchased a home in Pullman.

As Larry transitioned from dairy farming to professional portrait photography, from 1959 to 1963 Phyllis was employed as secretary at the YWCA on the WSU campus. She was an active partner in the photography business, spending many long evenings helping to process film and print photographs. Before color photography became economical, Phyllis hand-colored black and white portraits for the business.

Phyllis was an active member of the Pullman Presbyterian Church, often hosting get-togethers of the church Mariner's group and teaching and organizing Sunday school. She and Larry also were leaders of a 4-H club for many years. After all her children graduated from WSU, Phyllis returned and finished her degree in 1988. She emphasized coursework in early childhood development. After her graduation, she was certified as a Christian Educator in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), was Director of Christian Education in the Pullman church, served a term as Moderator of the Inland Northwest Presbytery, and supported the Common Ministry at WSU. Phyllis was an active genealogist, and a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the General Society of Mayflower Descendants.

In addition to her children, Phyllis is survived by her husband, Larry; grandchildren Amie and Katie Fortin (children of Sarah); Joshua Adams, Naomi Reishus, Hannah Adams, Jedediah Adams, and Samuel Adams (children of Janet); Elizabeth and Benjamin Thonney (children of Michael); Andrea De Vries, Robert Thonney, and Cheryl Thonney (children of Steven); and 8 great-grandchildren. In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her infant brother, Charles Alonzo Webster, her step-mother, Jane Webster, and her step-sister, Louise.

Phyllis left an oral history of her time at WSC at http://content.libraries.wsu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/wsu_oral/id/1254. The funeral will be on 18 July 2015 at 11 am at the Pullman Presbyterian Church (1630 NE Stadium Way). Vault interment will follow at the Pullman Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations in Phyllis's memory may be made to the WSU 4-H Foundation (http://extension.wsu.edu/4h/foundation/give/Pages/default.aspx), the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (http://www.bcrfcure.org/) or a favorite charity. Kimball Funeral Home is helping the family with arrangements.