Obituary of Phyllis Canfield Middlebrook

Middlebrook, Phyllis Canfield Phyllis "Phiddie" Canfield was born in Wahpeton, North Dakota on December 6, 1927 and died in Bloomington, MN on October 27, 2014. She had a wonderful childhood growing up on the Red River. Her father Phil worked for the Great Northern Railroad, raised Bull Terriers and managed the Wahpeton town baseball team while her mother Ethel ran the household and cooked many meals for the out of work men who rode the rails during the Great Depression. A very talented actress and singer Phyllis was the lead in Wahpeton High School plays and sang on the radio. As a senior she was named "Most Likely to Succeed" and also voted "Ms Wahpeton". Phyllis attended the University of Minnesota where she was a member of the Alpha Deta Thi sorority and was named the University of Minnesota "Rhythm Queen" in 1947. At the "U" Phyllis met and fell in love with John Middlebrook and they were married in 1948. Phyllis and John began raising a family while John obtained his medical degree. From 1949, with the birth of her first child, until 1979 when her youngest son graduated from college, Phyllis' life revolved around her children. She was involved and supportive in all their sports and school activities and from 1965 to 1975 was the recipient of the "Mom of the Year" award from almost every team her children played for. In the 1960s Phyllis was also very involved in the Minnesota DFL Party as Chairperson of the Minneapolis District where she was close friends with Hubert Humphrey, Eugene McCarthy and Walter Mondale. In the 1970s she was a volunteer tutor at Washburn High School and in the 1970s and 1980s she worked at St Mary's Hospital as a Counselor in the Chemical Dependency Unit working with her dear friend Dr George Mann. Her outgoing personality and compassion were extremely effective in helping others. For the next two decades Phyllis then focused her boundless energy and love on her grandchildren and became St Paul Academy and St Paul United's greatest hockey fan and grandmother. To the very end Phyllis was kind, caring, funny, compassionate and a beautiful person in all aspects. She impacted in a powerful and positive way the lives of everyone she interacted with. Phyllis was preceded in death by her parents Phillip and Ethel, her sister Lois and grandchildren Alex and Analise. She is survived by her husband of 65 years, John, her children Joan (Michael), Bill, Geoff (Sachiko), Chris (Cathryn) and Apophia (Steve), her grandchildren Seanan, Leslie, Clea, Ian, Delaney, Mary and Silas as well as 6 great grandchildren. A memorial service will be held on December 20 at 11 a.m. at Cremation Society of Minnesota, 7110 France Avenue S, Edina, MN 952-924-4100. Memorial gifts can be sent to "The Retreat" 1221 Wayzata Blvd E, Wayzata, MN 55391 or Mayo Clinic, Long QT Syndrome Research, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN 55905.