Phyllis B. (Bush) Wainman

Phyllis has left the building!

Phyllis B. Wainman, 75, of Sunset Dr., Homer, passed away following a brief illness on June 16, 2020.

A lifelong area resident, she was born July 22, 1944 in Cortland, a daughter of the late Wendell and Dorothy Clark Bush. Phyllis was a 1963 graduate of Cortland High and had attended Daytona Beach Community College.

She had most recently been employed as a clerk at the Saulsbury Fire & Rescue retail store and had also worked for a number of years at Homer National Bank.

Phyllis was a ‘professional’ volunteer and was active in many civic affairs. She was a member of the Homer Congregational Church; was one of the original volunteers at the Cortland County Crisis Hotline, and served as the co-chair of the Drug and Alcohol Awareness Program for the Homer School District. In 2015, Phyllis was awarded the Cortland County Senior of the Year.

She was active at the Cortland YWCA, participating for 40 years in the 8:00a.m. aerobics class, where she enjoyed lasting friendships with many of the other women. She also served as a Board Member at the YWCA. She loved to travel, especially the Caribbean Islands as well as taking 10 cruises over the years with Les.

She was a 50-year member of Diana Court #54 of the Order of the Amaranth, and a volunteer in the activities center at Crown Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation on Kellogg Road in Cortland. Probably her high school yearbook quote summed it up quite appropriately “Always quiet, be we know she was there.”

Surviving is her husband of 49 years, Les Wainman of Homer; her son, Chad Wainman of East Syracuse; a step-daughter, Stephanie (Rich) McClain of Thornton, CO; granddaughter, Sara Wainman of Houston, TX; a brother, Phillip (Imelda) Bush of Woodstock, GA and several nieces, nephews and cousins.

In addition to her parents, Phyllis was predeceased by a sister and brother-in-law, Dotti (Mike) Ihnotic and a step-daughter, Shari Wainman.

Services will be private and at the convenience of the family. Interment will be in Cortland Rural Cemetery.

Memorial contributions in Mrs. Wainman’s memory may be directed to the Homer Congregational Church Memorial Fund, 28 S. Main St., Homer, NY 13077 or to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, 200 Vesey Street, 28th Floor, New York, NY 10281.

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