Phyllis Grace (Gilbert) Tomasik (1923 - 2013)

Born 4 Jun 1923 in East Molesey, Surrey, England

Ancestors

Died 21 May 2013 at age 89 in Dearborn, Michigan, USA

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Biography

Early Years

Phyllis was the first child of Earnest and Mabel Gilbert. Her birth came very quickly after her parents marriage in mid-February 1923.^[1]Family stories relate that her father often described her as being so premature that, as a newborn, she could be held in the palm of his hand; and would fit into a teacup. During the first few days of her life, he fed her brandy to keep her alive. While she may have been premature, it is certain that she was conceived considerably before her parents marriage.^[2]

When Phyllis entered the English public school system the minimum age which one could leave school was 14. In 1936, it was raised to the age of 15. So, we can assume that Phyllis entered school at the age of 6 and continued with her schooling until she was 15, graduating from the 9th grade. At that time, in order to receive additional public education, students were required to pass a test. Phyllis took the test but did not pass it; so her formal education ended in 1938. She talked about working right after her schooling.^[2]

Most likely, her first job was at Bental's, a Kingston, Surrey department store. Her first position at Bental's was a sales clerk behind the pastry counter outside of the store restaurant. She said that when she was first on the job she adopted the habit of stooping below the counter to grab a cream puff which she would eat in one bite. On one occasion, her supervisor approached her while stooping and asked what she was doing. Phyllis stood up and mumbled something with a cream puff filled mouth and shot powdered sugar through the air. She was immediately reassigned to a more closely supervised position.^[2]

The War Years

Phyllis was living with her parents, her brother and sister when World War 2 started with Germany's invasion of Poland in 1939. She and all of her family, both immediate and other relatives survived the war. They lived through the German Blitz( Battle of Britain)and suffered the hardships of wartime curfews and rationing. She sang with a band for the soldiers and worked at the Hawkers aircraft factory in Kingston-on-Thames making gun sight parts for Hurricane fighters on a metal lathe. She met her future husband, Stanley sometime in late 1942 or very early 1943.^[2]

Stanley and Phyllis married on August 23, 1944 in Teddington, Middlesex, England.^[3][4] They spend their honeymoon night sleeping at Phyllis's family home in a Morrison Shelter which was basically a heavy steel table with mesh sides to protect the sleepers in event of a nearby bomb blast. The couple was married only a month or less when Stanley was transferred to France and was posted in St. Germaine-en-Laye near Paris for the remainder of the war. World War 2 ended in Europe in May, 1945.

After World War 2

Phyllis left England on the RMS Queen Mary from Southampton on February 3, 1946,^[5] to join Stanley who was already back from Europe. She arrived in New York on February 10. It was a stormy winter crossing with a ship filled with several thousand English war brides. Phyllis said the seas were so rough that they were discouraged from going outside. When they did, there were ropes rigged for the passengers to pull themselves along to prevent being swept overboard. Upon arriving in New York, she took a train to Detroit where she met Stanley and his family at Michigan Central Station.^[2]

The young couple lived for a time at the Freda Avenue home of Stanley's parents.^[6] It was during that time that Michael, their first child was born in April 1947.

In 1949, Phyllis and Stanley moved to a home newly built for them at 1360 Highview, Dearborn, Michigan where they both resided until their deaths in 2013.

In October, 1954, Phyllis's mother, Mabel Gilbert, visited Detroit. It was the first time that Phyllis had seen any of her family since she departed England in 1946.

Phyllis found time to raise two children, cook all the meals, keep an absolutely spotless home, and to sew and knit many of her and her children's clothes. She and Stanley hosted a Cub Scout Den. Phyllis learned how to cook Polish food from Stanley's mother and enrolled in French cooking classes, ceramics crafts and keyboard lessons on the electric organ.

Their second child, Pamela Jean was born in November, 1950.

Later In Life

In early summer of 1960 Phyllis traveled to England with Michael and Pamela for a summer long visit. It was memorable in that it had been 14 years since she had seen her father, brother and sister. The visit was further enriched by the christening of her sister Pamela's second child Philip and the marriage of her brother John to Monica Wilson.

In the late 70's or early 80's Phyllis was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. Initially her condition was manageable with oral medication but eventually she became totally dependent upon insulin injections. Although she lived with the disease for 30 years or more, later in life it took its toll effecting her eyesight and circulation. In 2012 she fell and broke her hip requiring a hip replacement at the age of 89. Her recovery was long and difficult with multiple hospital and nursing home stays.

Phyllis died in May of 2013, most likely from complications associated with Diabetes.^[7] Her husband Stanley entered the hospital at the time of her death and died about 4 weeks later.

Sources

1. ↑ Birth Certificate: CB452943, Kingston Reg. Dist.; Esher Sub-Dist.;Surrey, England
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} Stories told by her to her children
3. ↑ Marriage Certificate, Certified Copy, #264807, Reg. District: Staines; Middlesex, England
4. ↑ Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Marriage Index, 1916-2005 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2010;3^rdQuarter; Volume 3a; Page 147
5. ↑ Ancestry.com. UK, Outward Passenger Lists, 1890-1960 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
6. ↑ Polk's Directory for City of Dearborn, Wayne County, Michigan, Page 499
7. ↑ First hand knowledge of her son