Harriet M. Phillips

06/28/2004

Harriet M. Phillips, 97, of Gould Farm died Monday at Columbia Memorial Hospital in Hudson, N.Y. She was a longtime member of the William J. Gould Associates. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Jan. 18, 1907, daughter of Harry A. and Marie S. Dietz Phillips, she was educated there. She earned a teaching certificate in 1927 from Maxwell Training School for Teachers in Brooklyn and a bachelor of arts degree in education from Boston University in 1951. Miss Phillips taught first grade at Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown for 26 years, retiring in 1972. She began her career in the Brooklyn Public Schools, but after her vision failed in 1928, she taught for a number of years in private schools in Massachusetts and Connecticut. She also worked as a Dictaphone operator for the Monroe County Welfare Office in Rochester, N.Y., for seven years. She was the author and co-author of seven textbooks for the blind. She was a member of St. James' Episcopal Church in Great Barrington and an associate member of United Church of Christ in Monterey. She enjoyed singing with the Cobble Tones, a women's barbershop chorus, and played the piano, recorder and castanets with many groups. A member of the Girl Scouts since 1921, she served many years as a troop leader, including organizing a troop for blind and visually disabled girls, and remained an associate member. She received special recognition for more than 80 years of continuous membership. She also was a member of Pi Lambda Theta, the Association for the Visually Handicapped, the Massachusetts Association for the Blind and the William J. Gould Associates in Monterey. She leaves a cousin, George Lindley of Avon, Conn. FUNERAL NOTICE -- A memorial service for Harriet M. Phillips, who died June 28, 2004, will be held Friday, July 16, at 7 p.m. in the living room at Gould Farm, Monterey, where she has been completely at home since 1929. She was an avid story teller and rhyme maker, a ready wit and keen observer of the unadorned nature of things. She remained vital and loved her life until within a short time of her death. Arrangements are with BATES & ANDERSON-REDMOND & KEELER FUNERAL HOME, 110 Green St., Hudson, N.Y. She also leaves her extensive Gould Farm family, ranging in age from 1 to 93, and her cousin George's wife, Doris.

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