Phyllis Kubitz
Phyllis M. Lawson Kubitz, 92, died November 27, 2019 at the Good Samaritan Society in Waukon after a brief illness. A private family service will be held at a later date. Iowa Cremation is handling arrangements for the family.
Phyllis Martha Gast was born December 9, 1926 to Walter and Hettie (Baker) Gast. Phyllis’s mother, Hettie, died when Phyllis was a young girl. Subsequently, she was raised on the farm by her father, Walter, and an uncle.
This remarkable woman was educated in the local schools, graduating from Waterville High School in 1943 and Waukon Junior College in 1945. She held a myriad of jobs throughout her life - serving as a rural teacher, working in Rochester, MN at the famed Michaels Restaurant before they realized she was too young to be employed, McGregor Electronics, a cook at the Waterville School, and eventually a mother and homemaker.
Phyllis married Jean C. Lawson in Decorah March 17, 1947. They farmed and worked near Rossville and had two sons, Walter and Wesley. He preceded her in death May 18, 1977.
January 14, 1985, she married Robert E. Kubitz in Decorah. They farmed and lived in rural Waukon. He preceded her in death January 17, 2015.
She was an active member of the Rossville Presbyterian Church until its closure and served as an elder, Sunday School teacher, as well as secretary of its United Presbyterian Women’s organization.
A born storyteller, Phyllis was talkative, pragmatic and fiercely independent. In Waukon, she was a fixture at the S&D Café and the Waukon Wellness Center. In her later years, she got to add “widely traveled” to her list of attributes. Whether in southern Iowa or southern California, Phyllis relished time spent with family members and the chance to see new places. And whether you married into the family or had known her for your entire life, Phyllis loved her children and grandchildren and was blessed with great-grandchildren and even great-great-grandchildren. She loved the Chicago Cubs, reading, crocheting and dancing.
Phyllis was the conduit of information for our family - if you wanted to know how someone was and what they were up to, all you had to do was pick up the phone and call. She also made people feel welcome and loved - birthdays were marked with cards and if you lived nearby, favorite desserts. Phyllis’s spirit was only overshadowed by her heart, which had an endless capacity to love.
Survivors include her children: Wally Lawson of Hemet, CA, Wesley (Brenda) Lawson of Albia, Gary (Sharron) Kubitz of Waukon, Doug (Sharon) Kubitz of Monona, Penny (John) Hogan of Holmen, WI, and Bruce (Deb) Kubitz and Robin (Steve) Oden, both of Waukon; 17 grandchildren: Carrie Koenen, Valerie Lawson, Julianna Haas, Jennifer Deines, Gena Beer, LeDonna Harris, Josh Weber, Leah Dwinnell, Bob Kubitz, Shelley Mahannah, Kelly Woods, Michael Kubitz, Larry Kubitz, Joanna Downing, Nicole Hutson, and Pat and Pete Hogan; 40 great-grandchildren; and seven great-great-grandchildren. She is also survived by a myriad of other relatives and by friends who were like family members to her.
She is preceded in death by her parents and her husbands, Jean in 1977 and Robert in 2015. She was also preceded in death by her sister, Alyce Palmer, and an infant brother, John Donald.
