Phyllis M. Heydon

Phyllis M. Heydon, 86 of Sioux City passed away on Thursday, July 23, 2015 at a local care facility. Funeral services will be at 10:30 A.M. Thursday at the Holy Spirit Retirement Home Chapel. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery in Newcastle, NE. Visitation will be from 4:00 - 8:00 p.m. Wednesday with the family present from 6:00 - 8:00 P.M. at Meyer Brothers Colonial Chapel. There will be a rosary recited by the Catholic Daughters of the Americas at 4:00 P.M. and a Vigil Service at 7:00 P.M. Wednesday all at the funeral home. Phyllis was born August 5, 1928 on a farm outside of Newcastle, NE; she was the daughter of Joe and Iola (McCracken) Power. Phyllis grew up on the family farm with her two younger sisters, Darline and Clarice, and went to school in Newcastle, where she graduated in 1945. After she graduated, she received her teaching certificate and taught in a one room school house for one year. Phyllis decided that teaching was not for her so she moved to "the big city of Sioux City" and worked at JCPenny's for a short while, then took a job working in the office at John Deere Tractor Company, which she loved. She married Nathan "Nate" Heydon on June 16, 1948 and they lived on a farm outside of Newcastle; he passed away on July 10, 1989 in Sioux City. Phyllis and Nate had the first five of their seven children while living on that farm. When her younger sister, Clarice, became terminally ill, they decided to pack up the family and move to Napa, California to be closer to her sister. The last two of the seven children were born in Napa and sadly, her sister passed away in 1963. In November of 1967, the family decided to move back to the Midwest and settled in Sioux City, Iowa. Phyllis was a homemaker and enjoyed raising her children along with countless other children that she loved through her in-home daycare service. She was active at the Cathedral of the Epiphany, was a member of the Catholic Daughters of the Americas and was one of the founding members of the Rose Hill Neighborhood Association. Phyllis worked for over 20 years on all of the local elections in Sioux City, which she proudly did with her two best friends; her cousin, Franny Girard and her neighbor, Franny Berger. Phyllis also worked for over 10 years at the Bargain Center thrift store and sold Watkins products on the side, to her family and friends. In her later years, she enjoyed spending time with her grand-dog, Baxter. Survivors include 6 children: Dina Finley (Bob), Rich Heydon (Chris), Josephine Cole, Bev Heydon, Ron Heydon and Lisa Zook all of Sioux City; a son in law: Tim Hoefling of Sioux City; 10 grandchildren: Rhonda Gross, Tonya Eilenstine, Jason Dutra, Nathan Finley, Justin Heydon, Tiffany Eglin, Mychel Paul Larson, Andrew Larson, Spencer and Mallory Zook; 12 great grandchildren and 8 great great grandchildren, as well as numerous nieces and nephews. Phyllis was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Nate, daughter Sandy Hoefling; 2 sisters: Darline Olander and Clarice Amable.