Phyllis V. Pavlich entered the world on May 30, 1931. She was the 5th of 8 children born to Dragan “Charles” and Matilda “Tilda” (Starkovich) Pavlich. Her siblings were: Agnes, David, Joseph, Betty Jo, Mary Lou, Katherine, and James. Her early years were spent in the coal camp of Brilliant, NM. The family later moved from Brilliant to Raton, where they settled at the home on the east side of town which was to become known as the Farm.
Phyllis graduated from St. Patrick Academy in Raton and went on to college at NM Highlands University in Las Vegas where she majored in Elementary Education. After graduation, she taught for a time at the coal camp of Colmor, then lived and taught for a number of years in California. She eventually returned to Raton where she accepted a position teaching junior high Girl’s Physical Education. Her stories associated with those years in the Raton schools were numerous and often hilarious. She worked the rest of her career in the Raton school system and eventually retired from there. After retirement, she continued to live in Raton assisting her mother and sister, Betty Jo.
Phyllis was a long-time, active member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. She took a great deal of interest in and supported the parish’s various activities. Most days would find her at one point or another at her usual seat at daily Mass.
Phyllis made sure that the Raton Farm was always open and welcoming to the many family members and friends who would stop in for a few days’ visit or simply on their way through the area. She made it a favorite place to stay.
Phyllis was called from this world to be with her Lord and Savior on August 16, 2026.
And now, few interesting items about Phyllis:
Though she never had any children of her own, Aunt Phyllis was a favorite of her many nieces and nephews. She took it upon herself to take most (if not all) of those nieces and nephews to Disneyland at some point. Often, she enlisted her sister May Lou (when she was available) in this effort – probably as much for her own sanity as for crowd control. Various aspects of those “vacations” still come up in discussions decades later – giving credence to the old expression that “You’ll laugh about this someday.”
During her teaching years, Phyllis having the keys to the school’s swimming pool was a boon for the nieces and nephews and a way for us to burn off some energy while visiting the Farm. Also, taking the kids out in the field to fly kites or taking day trips up Cimarron Canyon or to Mt. Capulin were fun ways (at least for the kids) to keep the youngsters occupied.
Phyllis’ years of teaching young girls had a long-reaching impact on multiple generations of women. To this day, there continue to be instances of women of widely varying ages in neighboring town and, yes, even neighboring states who, upon hearing the Pavlich name and discovering the connection to Phyllis, will comment along the lines of “ ’Pav’ taught me/my mother/my grandmother back in the day.” And their recollections of Phyllis and those times are uniformly fond and upbeat. To this day, when Phyllis tells of seeing or hearing about one of her former students, she still refers to them as “one of my little girls.”
Phyllis had a pretty solid (some would say “rigid”) idea of what was right/wrong/fair/unfair and woe to those who crossed that line when it involved Phyllis and those around her. Just ask certain city council members, highway department officials, state regulators, and even a U.S. senator who found themselves (temporarily) on the wrong side of Phyllis’ fair/unfair divide until such time as they saw the light.
Phyl also believed that family is one of the most important things in life – just behind faith in God and ahead (just barely) of her favorite sports teams.
At the Farm, Phyl always made sure that a pot of coffee was ready for guests, and she continued Tilda’s tradition of constantly trying to get guests to eat something – anything. That was just the way it was going to be, so it was best to go with the flow. And while sitting around the kitchen table, pretty much any topic was fair game for discussion under the strictly enforced rule of “What is said in the kitchen stays in the kitchen!”
Phyllis could be welcoming, caring, irritating, and maddening all at the same time; but you always knew that she loved you. And she was loved as well.
Phyllis’ faith was unrelenting, and she put her trust in God and His mercy all throughout her life. She prayed fervently for all her family as well as a long list of “special attention” individuals each and every day (her prayer intentions box was always crammed full). Most of us were on that list at one time or another (some of us for much longer than others). Phyllis was absolutely faithful in her prayers for others; and now she can continue those prayers for all of us from a new vantage point.
We will miss her until we meet up with her again.
Recitation of the Most Holy Rosary will be August 28, 2026, at 11:00 am at St. Patrick’s/St. Joseph’s Church, recited by the Legion of Mary. Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 11:30 am with Father Bill Woytavitch as the celebrant. Internment will be in the Mount Calvary Cemetery.
Arrangements for Phyllis V. Pavlich are entrusted to the care of the Alderette-Pomeroy Funeral Home.
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