Phyllis R Prall Brewer

Phyllis Rae Prall Brewer, 74 of Hermiston, Oregon went home to be with her Heavenly Father on Thursday, March 14, 2024 on a sunny afternoon surrounded with the love of her family and friends. 

She was born December 30, 1949 in Eugene, Oregon to Thomas and Doris Prall and was the middle of three children. Phyllis was a vibrant being right from the start and had a gypsy heart, just like her father. She had an adventurous spirit and often did things first and thought about the potential consequences later. From an early age she was an avid animal lover and had varying pets both domestic and wild. At one point she even had a pet fox. She was often rescuing animals and providing them care until they found a permanent home. Phyllis loved horses and dogs the most; especially dogs from the terrier breeds. Some of her beloved pets included Rosie the pot bellied pig, Ricky her miniature stallion, Bear her Cairn Terrier, and recently Emmy her Yorkshire Terrier. Most of her volunteer work over the years was centered around animals. She helped with the Dog Days of Summer activities with the Hermiston Police Department, and the PAWS spay and neuter clinic for low income families and stray cats. Phyllis knew no stranger. She was always making new friends and helping out where she could. Through the years she had many ups and downs. In difficult times she was always surrounded by family, friends and her community. Phyllis was a two time cancer survivor along with a whirlwind of other medical and health issues. She fought fearlessly for so long up until the end when she decided she was ready to go home to Heaven. 

Phyllis grew up traveling across the Western states of Oregon and Idaho. She attended Meridian High School in Meridian, ID and graduated in 1967, she participated in the Drill Team and the Foursquare Church youth group and choir. The friendships she made at Meridian High and the Foursquare church have remained with her until her passing. She always made the time to stay connected to these friendships and regularly attended her youth group reunions. After high school Phyllis moved away from home to attend L.I.F.E. Bible College in Los Angeles, CA. It is here that she graduated with a Business degree. 

In life, Phyllis was a jack of all trades and had many occupations over the years. Most people locally knew her for her professional dog grooming businesses that she owned. She originally started her career in sales at the Kennewick, WA Sears as a sales associate. When she returned to California, she worked at a bank and worked her way up the ladder to becoming branch manager; this is where she met her husband and future father of her daughters. Through the years she liked to buy and sell property which eventually led her on to getting her Real Estate license. She became a dog groomer when she began to raise American Cocker Spaniels and have them shown professionally. Later on she became the secretary of her church at Trinity Lutheran. Then eventually made her way back into dog grooming until she retired.

Her hobbies included doing arts and crafts, studying her Bible and hosting/attending Bible studies with church friends. She often enjoyed what she referred to as “church hopping” visiting her friends and making new connections. She also loved to sing; especially worship songs.  She was an active leader in the Hermiston Christian Singles Group and loved to plan and attend events to socialize. Additionally, for a brief time she helped co-lead the Trinity Lutheran Youth Group that her daughters participated in. Phyllis also appreciated nature and loved a good road trip. She enjoyed camping in the mountains, seeing the pine trees, collecting rocks and pinecones, feeding wildlife and exploring. She was very keen on horseback riding, and loved riding where she could get a good view. Some of her other adventurous activities include swimming in the local canal, jumping on un-broke horses belonging to strangers as a kid, riding her dirt bike as a young adult, four wheeling and river rafting. She also enjoyed a good movie, thrift shopping, yard selling, attending horse auctions, showing miniature horses, and going to the fair and rodeo. Phyllis was a woman of many talents and she enjoyed dabbling in a small modeling career in the 80’s,  as well as having roles as an extra in some of Hollywood’s big films. She tried to pursue this dream of acting and modeling and even had her daughters and dogs involved in some of this through the late 80’s and early 90’s.

As for family and friends, they were a huge part of Phyllis’s life. One of her biggest dreams was to have a family of her own. She became a mother in July 1983 and welcomed her second daughter in December 1986. She always said her girls were her greatest gift from God. She fiercely loved her parents and daughters. She had always wanted to live closer to her parents in Idaho, and raise her girls in the country. She eventually decided to leave California with her daughters and happened to stop in Hermiston,OR  to visit some beloved cousins on her way home to Idaho in the mid 90’s. She fell in love with the small town feel and the wonderful people of the community who embraced her with welcoming arms and friendship. In addition to the friendships she quickly made, her cousins became a big part of her life and helped her make Eastern Oregon her home. Phyllis also loved to travel all over the Pacific Northwest to visit her extended family. She was always eager to attend family gatherings and reunions and often would become the star of the show with the shenanigans she would get up to with her siblings and cousins. There was never a dull moment when everyone started sharing their stories about Phyllis and she definitely kept the party alive and people in stitches. Even to this day a tall tale or two could be told about Phyllis. In recent years she became a grandmother of two grandsons whom she adored and got to relive the days of spoiling babies. On top of that, she had the privilege of becoming a step grandmother to three more amazing kids. She also gained two wonderful sons- in-law through the marriages of her daughters whom she loved dearly.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Thomas and Doris Prall. She is survived by her siblings, Karen Winn of Caldwell, ID and Ron (Cindy) Prall of Kamiah, ID. Her daughters, Lauren (Bruce) Thompson of Skagway, AK and Natalie (Brad) Hamilton of Stanfield, OR; grandchildren Grahm and Elliot Hamilton, McKayla, Hannah and Isaac Thompson. 

Phyllis loved the Lord with all her heart and studied his word often. One of her favorite scriptures is the Lord’s Prayer “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil for thine is the Kingdom, the power and glory for ever.” Amen. Matthew 6, 9-13.

A Celebration of Life will be held later this year and announced at a later date. 

Please share memories of Phyllis with her family at burnsmortuaryhermiston.com

Burns Mortuary of Hermiston, Oregon is in care of arrangements.

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