Phyllis Jean Dawson
1940-2026
Phyllis Jean Dawson, 86, passed away peacefully on July 12, 2026, surrounded by her family.
Born June 14, 1940, in Berkeley Springs, W.Va., Phyllis was the fourth of five siblings. She married her high school sweetheart, Emil, and together they built a life that lasted 66 years.
After high school, she waitressed at Cacapon State Park before joining Emil in Washington, D.C., where she took a job as a clerk with the FBI. She later transferred to the Washington Navy Yard, where she worked until 1974. When her division relocated to Florida, she chose not to follow, staying home instead to raise her two daughters, the work she considered the most important of her life. She filled those years with the people and things she loved.
For 25 years, she and Emil bowled in a Friday night league, and she enjoyed it enough to join a women’s league on Wednesday mornings too. Family vacations were often spent camping, from a pop-up tent in the early days to traveling by RV later on. Together they made it to 45 states, and those trips gave her some of her happiest days and left the family with memories to treasure. She loved shopping with Karen, planning the menus for long road trips with Linda, visiting Melissa in New Jersey, and taking spur-of-the-moment drives with Emil. Everyone looked forward to her homestyle cooking, especially her famous chocolate chip cookies, and every summer she canned green beans, pickles and jelly preserves, always sending everyone home with some.
Phyllis never knew a stranger. She could start a conversation with anyone, anywhere. The phone was always ringing with family and friends who wanted to catch up or just needed a caring voice on the other end. She listened, she remembered and she always had time for you.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Emil, and by three siblings, Bailey, Viola and Harry Lee.
She is survived by her daughters, Karen (Bob) and Linda (Nelson); her grandchildren, Melissa (Bryan), Nicholas, Jackson and Lincoln; her great-grandchildren, Brayden and Dylan; and her brother, Doug.
Phyllis will be remembered for her open heart, her easy way with people, and the love she and Emil shared.
A memorial service will be held Thursday, August 6, at 11 a.m. at New Life Church in La Plata, Md., followed by a reception at the Moose Lodge in White Plains, Md.
