Dunham, Phyllis Tait

Phyllis Tait Dunham

4/24/1920 - 7/18/2011

Phyllis Ann Tait was born in Philadelphia, Pa., the youngest daughter of Dr. Charles Tait and Esther Newcomer Tait. She entered the world in the Roaring ‘20s, went to high school and college during the depression and married during World War II. She was raised and educated in the Quaker tradition. While a student at George School she made friends with a tall skinny boy known as “Hawk” (Robert W. Dunham). They married while he was on leave from the Signal Corps in 1944.

After the war, Phyl and Hawk stayed briefly in Philadelphia where their first two children were born. They lived in a small town in Connecticut until 1960. Their third child was born there. Their 150-year-old farmhouse had a freezer full of the things Phyl had preserved and the pantry shelves were full of jars she canned. Wounded animals were often left in boxes on the side porch by neighbors who knew she would take care of them.

In 1960, Hawk's work took them to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. As displaced “easterners” they had reservations about the length of their stay. The warmth of their new friends and the possibility of growing nearly anything in their garden quickly changed their minds and they never left.

During their time in Cedar Rapids, Phyl was safety services director for the American Red Cross. That work lead to her lifelong interest in services to people with disabilities. She taught swimming for the disabled for many years, inventing swim aids where none existed. She and her husband traveled frequently both with early Chamber of Commerce tours and for business. Their traveling culminated in a trip around the world where she finally got to see her beloved elephants in the wild.

As retirement became eminent, they began to look seriously for a place in the country. They settled on a knoll above the Iowa River just outside East Amana where they renovated an old oak barn and lived for 27 years. Gardening, canning and sewing reached epic proportions. New wonderful neighbors became lifelong friends. Family gatherings included pond swimming, sledding, hiking, apple picking and woodcutting.

Phyl's interest in disability issues prompted her to join forces with Florence Ballantyne to create an independent living facility specifically for people with physical disabilities. Project Independence was the end result: an apartment complex in Cedar Rapids.

Phyl loved singing, books and words, good food, a dry martini and the beauty of the physical world.

She was predeceased by her husband of 62 years, Robert “Bob” Dunham.

She is survived by her daughter, Sabra (Warren); son, Geoff (Sheila); and daughter, Deb (Mike). She has five grandchildren: Matthew Statter, Christopher Statter, Robert Dunham II, Danielle Dunham and Natalie Statter; as well as many loving cousins on the east coast.

She has been cremated and her ashes will be spread on the East Amana farm she shared with her husband.

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