Ancestral History

Phillis DeLila Stewart Quirl

Phillis DeLila Stewart Quirl is my Grandmother. I interviewed her daughter, my mother, about her and her life.

Phillis was born on October 8, 1926 to Samuel LaRoy Stewart and Alice DeLila Curvo Stewart in Teton, Idaho. She was their first born. She has two siblings; Nelda who is five years younger and Arden who is ten years younger. Phillis grew up on a farm. Her father was a farmer who spent most of his time working. Her mother stayed at home and kept the house. Her mother loved to read and kept a really good journal. DeLila loved to garden and would spend all her spare time in the yard with her flowers. Roy didn't have much spare time, but was a really hard worker. During the depression they almost lost the farm, but due to Roy's diligent hard work the farm survived and he was able to provide for his family. Her parents were very kind and loving and they made their home a place of love. Phillis often would recall many times during the winter that her father would hook up the horses to the sleigh and drive her the 2-3 miles to the bus stop so she wouldn't have to walk through the snow. Phillis grew up feeling loved and cared for by her parents, she knew that they would do anything for her.

Phillis grew up on the farm in Moody, Idaho. The farm house they lived in was not large. There was a small kitchen, a living room and two small bedrooms. There was no running water and they used an outhouse. They got there water for cooking and bathing from the canal next to their house. They had a root cellar to keep their food in. When Phillis was 16 they moved into a house in Teton Idaho that had running water and she was so excited for a bathroom inside the house. They grew up eating dinner together. They mostly ate food from the farm. They raised farm animals so they had fresh eggs, milk, bacon, chicken and beef. Phillis grew up wearing dresses and didn't have a pair of pants until she was in high school. They would wear aprons over their dresses while working to keep them nice. Some of the responsibilities that Phillis had growing up were; carrying in the water, cooking on the wood stove, working in the garden, and helping with the household chores. She didn't get any sort of an allowance. She just knew that she needed to help the family by doing her part. One thing that she wished she could have bought for herself was a teddy bear, but she didn't get one until after she was married. The only time Phillis remembers being really sick is when her appendix burst. She had to have a drain tube to drain our the infection and she spent the whole summer in bed getting better. The one time Phillis remembers getting in trouble by her mother is when she cut her own hair. She would cut off a piece of hair and put it in a glass jar. She thought she was being to careful, but her mom was pretty upset. She was suppose to go the next day to have her pictures taken and ended up with a boy-like hair cut for the picture which made her mom really sad.

Phillis had seven really great friends. These eight girls were friends until from grade school until they died. They called themselves Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. They were inseparable. Even when they got older and spread out they would get together at least once a year for dinner. They really were more like sisters then just friends.

Phillis remembers Thanksgiving being very important. They would always get together as a big family and have a meal together. She remembers her mom's really yummy apple pies. DeLila would make her apple pies with Red Hots so the pie came out looking pink. They were so delicious! One fond memory Phillis has about the holidays is that her dad would take her and her siblings to the movies every Christmas Eve to try and help pass the time until Christmas Day. She always thought that was really nice of him.

Phillis's mom was very adamant about school and encouraged all her children to continue learning. DeLila loved learning and would read everything she could get her hands on just to learn more. Phillis attended Kindergarten through 8^th grade at Teton school district. She started high school at Madison High School and went there through her Junior year. WWII was going on during her Senior year and they started gas rations so she had to switch to South Fremont High School because it was closer to her house. She ended up graduating from South Fremont High School. After graduating to went to Rick College until she got married.

Phillis's first job was during the summer after high school as a telegrapher at the railroad station. She would take telegrams and attach them to the moving trains. It was kind of a dangerous job and she didn't really like it. She was then a stay at home mom until the farm started to do bad and she got a job at a clothing store called Barrett's then at JCPenny's. Her final and favorite job was as a division secretary at Ricks College where she worked until she retired. If she could change one thing she would have found a way not to have to work. She always felt bad that she wasn't at home with her kids after school. The only job she ever really wanted was to be a mother.

Phillis's family farm was kiddy-corner from James Brent Quirl's family farm. Their fathers were good friends. Brent's little sister, Beth, was one of the Seven Dwarfs. Brent would see Phillis working in the farm and fell in love with her. He just knew that he would have to wait until she grew up since he was five years older than her. When the girls would hang out at Beth's house, Brent would offer to drive them all home and he would drop off Phillis last just to spend a little more time with her. When Phillis was in high school she was voted the Girl's Day Queen and Brent was her escort. Brent was then drafted into the Army for WWII. When he got back he went up to Phillis and said let's get married. She went to the store and bought a dress and they went to the temple with their parents and got married. After they took a couple pictures and when out to eat with their parents. Then they left for their honeymoon to Southern Utah and Arizona. Phillis loved their honeymoon because it was the first time she had really been out of Teton Idaho. She was so amazed by the rock formations, cacti, and red dirt; things she had never seen before. She even had to bottle up the dirt and bring it home with her.

Phillis and Brent had a wonderful marriage and a great life. Brent was a farmer and Phillis stayed home as long as she could. They had four children. Their first child was a girl named Sandra. After she was born the doctors told them they probably wouldn't be able to have more kids. They tried and tried anyway and had their second child, a boy named Zeph, five years later. Two and a half years later another boy was born named Kirk. Brent insisted that they needed have one more child, but Phillis thought for sure that it would be another boy. Brent assured her that if they had one more child it would be a girl. Phillis agree they needed one more and soon after a little baby girl was born named Denise. They raised their children to be strong members of the church and they tried to instill good qualities in their children. They were great parents full of love and understanding. They were great examples to their kids and had great testimonies.

Phillis was raise in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She had a very strong testimony of the Gospel and went to church every week. There was always prayers and talk of Christ in their home. She raised her children to know that the Church was true and that it was really important. She encouraged her boys to serve missions and all her kids to marry in the temple. Phillis loved God with all her heart and knew that He was real and that He loved her. She worshipped him and strived to follow his commandments.

I interviewed her daughter, Denise, and she said that Phillis was a very kind and friendly person. Her greatest strength was loving and caring for those around her and being non judgmental of others. She was very selfless and cared about others more than herself. She was always serving others and making sure they were well taken care off. Denise remembers even when Phillis didn't feel good and could barely walk she would still offer to serve family members when they visited her instead of letting them serve her. Her greatest achievement was her family. She would always talk about her four children, 16 grandchildren and 20+ great-grand kids. Her family and posterity was her pride and joy.

 Phillis passed away on December 12, 2011. She was a very loved person and left a great legacy. She is truly missed everyday. I'm proud to call her my Grandmother.