Phyllis Wierenga ’55 Muilenburg

Phyllis Wierenga ’55 Muilenburg quietly left this earth on Sunday, April 2, 2017, to be with her loving husband, Bob.

Phyllis was born in Grand Rapids, Mich., to Ella and Raymond Wierenga. She attended Hope College in Holland, Mich., where she met the love of her life, Robert William Muilenburg. They were married for 66 years, until Robert’s passing in August 2016.

Phyllis had a teaching degree and taught elementary school while her husband was in graduate school and then the Navy. She left education with the birth of her first child, Pamela, in 1958. Her son, Robert, was born three years later, and she chose the career of homemaker until returning to education in 1976.

Phyllis was very proud of her role in directing the Millbrook Nursery School in Randolph, N.J., for many years and received much joy from the young lives she helped mold. Phyllis’s great joy, beyond her family, was her house in Cape May Point. “Phyl’s Place” was her summer retreat for many years, where she enjoyed the community, beach and abundant sunshine.

Phyllis will be missed by her daughter, Pamela Dietz; a son, Robert Muilenburg, and her six grandchildren, Jessica Daley, William Dietz, David Dietz, Matthew Muilenburg, Corrine Muilenburg and Jake Muilenburg. The family takes comfort that she is reunited with her husband, Robert.

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