Phyllis S. McCusker died January 25, 2009 at the age of 90 in the Frasier Meadows Health Care Center, Boulder, Colorado. She was born November 14, 1918 in Enderlin, North Dakota, daughter of Tracy Olletin Sweetland and Emma Fargeman Sweetland. She was the first person to receive a degree in Medical Technology from the University of North Dakota. She was proud of her Danish immigrant and Mayflower forebears. As a girl she was a competitive ice-skater and followed the sport of figure skating throughout her life.
On February 25, 1942 she married Emmet Neil McCusker. The family moved often, first to New York where Emmet completed Medical School, then to North Dakota, several California locations, and Kansas. Emmet died in 1968 in Kansas. At that time, she surveyed choices of where to best raise a family and grow. She moved to Boulder in 1972 to take advantage of its natural settings and enrolled in many classes. She worked for several years as a medical technologist. She was a newspaper junkie, subscribing to many progressive newspapers and magazines.
She is survived by her children;; Michael V., Los Altos, Callifornia; Brian P., Buellton, California; Mary K., Santa Fe, NM; Kevin T., Bostson, Ma; Kris C., Denver, Co.; and Patrick D., Chicago, Ill.
A family gathering for inurnment is planned at a later date in Halstead.
