Our beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother passed away December 16, 2020. She was born in Windham, Pennsylvania to Clifford Peter Merrill and Eleanor Jane Ackerman. She graduated from high school in Nichols, New York.

She married Gordon Manly Bartholomew on June 20, 1954 in Binghamton, New York. They were sealed in the Manti Temple along with their three children on July 19, 1962. Phyllis and Gordon served at the Washington, D.C. Temple from 1986-1997, the Orlando Temple from 1997-2002, and the Provo Temple from 2002-2009. She served in many church callings and especially enjoyed teaching the “teacher development” classes. She spent countless hours doing family research and indexed tens of thousands of names for family history purposes. When she was no longer able to do that, she spent those hours reading scriptures and conference talks and sharing the messages with her family after Sunday dinners. She was a wonderful cook and fastidious with her housekeeping and with how she dressed herself and her family. She enjoyed gardening and playing games with her family, especially marbles (aggravation), in which she was practically unbeatable.

After losing her loving husband of 54 years on April 2, 2009, she married Shirley Wilson on May 12, 2012 and enjoyed three wonderful years of companionship with him and his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

At the tender age of 5, she lost her mother and newborn brother. She also lost her older brother in 2017. We feel comfort knowing that she is now joyfully reunited with her many loved ones. She is survived by her children Dennis (Barbara) Bartholomew of Declo, ID, Shelley Finch of Richford, NY, Cheri Lu (Warren) Kunz of Mapleton, UT, 14 grandchildren, 32 great grandchildren; Stepchildren Janice (Rex) Woodhouse, Steve (Glenda) Wilson, Barbara (Ray) Yelland, Craig (Julie) Wilson, Melanie Taylor, David (Victoria) Wilson, Annalys (John) Wilson, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

A visitation will be held on Tuesday, December 22, 2020 from 1-1:45 p.m. at Walker Funeral Home, 587 South 100 West, Payson, Utah. Funeral services will be held Tuesday, December 22, at 1:00 p.m. at the Walker Funeral Home at 2 p.m. Burial will be at Payson City Cemetery.