Phyllis May Caudill

Phyllis May Caudill died peacefully on February 18, 2017 at the age of 95. Born in Sydney, Australia, she was the eldest of four children of Philip Patrick and May Hassett. Phyllis graduated from Holy Cross School and the Brigidine College in Randwick, Sydney. Phyllis proudly recalled that she started working at age 15 in the clerical pool at the Sydney Water Board. When U.S. and Allied forces established their South West Pacific Command headquarters in Australia in 1942, Phyllis applied for a secretarial position with the US Army. There she met Robert Moores Caudill from Oklahoma City, OK. Phyllis recalled their first encounter in December 1942: "I noticed that Yank sergeant I'd met across the hall in the finance department. He was nice looking, neat and tidy and, well, I had my eye on him. I had some candy in my desk and so I took a piece across to him and said 'Would you like a lolly?'" A wartime romance bloomed, leading to their marriage on January 15, 1945 at the Cathedral of St. Stephen in Brisbane, Australia. Bob was soon ordered back to the US and Phyllis joined him at the end of the war, sailing with hundreds of other young Australian women bound for San Francisco on February 20, 1946. Phyllis and Bob established their home in Oklahoma City where they raised their three children. They were among the founding members of St. Eugene Catholic Church in Oklahoma City. Phyllis became a US citizen in 1962, primarily she said, to vote in the presidential election for fellow Irish Catholic John F. Kennedy. Phyllis polished her lightning-fast typing and shorthand skills to return to the workplace as executive secretary and administrative assistant at World Neighbors from 1968 to 1986. Phyllis always had another book to read, crossword puzzle to solve, knitting project to complete, and episode of Jeopardy to watch. She loved party games, dominated at Trivial Pursuit, and taught her children, grandchildren and great-grandsons how to play rummy as soon as they could count. She and Bob loved to dance, spending many Saturday nights out with their ol' gang. They enjoyed 10 years of retirement travel and fun together until Bob's death in 1996. Mrs. Caudill is survived by her three children, Philip Robert and wife Sandy, Denise May and Anthony Patrick, all of Oklahoma City; grandchildren Christopher Robert Caudill and wife Rachel Niketopoulos of Raleigh, NC; Patrick Hassett Caudill and wife Sarah and their sons Declan and Dylan of Tomball, TX; Megan Elizabeth Holzhausen and husband Erick of Oklahoma City, Kathryn Denise Caudill, Seattle WA and Kevin Patrick Caudill of Norman, OK; and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews in Australia. Phyllis was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Robert M. Caudill; and daughters-in-law, the mothers of her grandchildren, Nancy Elizabeth Caudill and Elizabeth O'Meilia Caudill. The family is grateful for the loving care Phyllis received in the last years of her life from the staff of The Heaven House Assisted Living Home in Oklahoma City. Memorial gifts may be made to the American Diabetes Association. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, February 22 at St. Eugene Catholic Church with burial to follow at Resurrection Memorial Cemetery.