WASHINGTON-Phyllis Linnenkamp, age 70, formerly of Des Moines and San Diego, died on Wednesday, March 2, 2011, at the Washington Care Center, concluding a fifteen-year struggle with Pick’s disease, a form of dementia.
Phyllis was born in 1940, in Prairie City, Iowa, the sixth child of Alice Jean (Bratten) of Washington and Virgil Linnenkamp of Harper. The family moved to Des Moines in 1941 where she attended St. Anthony’s Catholic school. She graduated from St. Joseph’s Academy in 1958 and attended Iowa State University before marrying Paul Doring of Kansas City in 1962. Three sons were born in Des Moines before their marriage ended. Phyllis worked for Meredith Publishing Company and completed her BA at Drake University in 1972. She moved to San Diego and worked as a technical writer while earning her MBA from San Diego State University. She was most active in the German-American Association of San Diego and enjoyed history, travel, music and life-long learning. She returned to Iowa in 1995 and moved to Iowa City in 1998. She was then moved to Washington in 2002.
Survivors include three sons: Tim Doring of San Diego, California, Dennis Doring of Independence, Kansas and Paul John Doring of Kansas City, Missouri; three brothers: James (Alice Ann) Linnenkamp of Paso Robles, California, Gary (Maritta) Linnenkamp of Shawnee, Kansas and Dennis (Marcia) Linnenkamp of Alto, New Mexico and two sisters: Carol (Chuck) Jeffries of Des Moines and Roberta Linnenkamp of Iowa City. She was preceded in death by two older sisters and her parents.
A Catholic Memorial Service will be held at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 5, 2011, at Powell Funeral Home in Keota. Parish Life Administrator, Carol Kaalberg, will preside. Burial will follow at St. Elizabeth Cemetery in Harper. Visitation with family members present will be from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. on Saturday morning, March 5, at the funeral home.
Memorials may be made to the Iowa Right to Life Educational Fund or St. James Catholic Church in Washington. Powell Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Keota is caring for Phyllis and her family. Condolences may be e-mailed at www.powellfuneralhomes.com under obituaries.
