Phyllis Start

Phyllis Mae Start was born on April 21, 1931, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and died August 17, 2026, at age 95. Her early years were spent on the family farm with her parents and three siblings. She started school in a one-room schoolhouse and graduated in 1948 from Godwin High School, where she met Lewis, her future husband. They were married for nearly 60 years. After high school, Phyllis worked at Haskellite until the birth of her first child.  The description Home Economist surely applied to Phyllis.    She was skilled in sewing, knitting, crochet, and more. When the need arose, she learned cake decorating, upholstery, and tailoring, to name a few.  She made all of her daughters’ clothes throughout most of their school years. In later years, Phyllis and Lew enjoyed playing cards and traveling with friends and family.  In her lifetime she traveled to every state of the union and many overseas locations. She was preceded in death by her parents, Elizabeth and Roy Oppenneer, husband Lewis Start, siblings Edward Oppeneer (Rosalie), Harold Oppenner (Peg), and Maxine Minkus (Don) and sons in law Brad Abel and Jerry Hilaski. She is sadly missed by daughters, Linda Start, Laura Hilaski and Luanne (Steve) VanderLaan; grandchildren, Aaron (Sarah) Rocheleau, and Nicholas Abel; and two great-grandchildren Rebekah and Abigail Rocheleau. Donations may be made to Faith Hospice Grand Rapids or the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of Michigan. Funeral services will be held at Noon on Wednesday, August 26 at Matthysse-Kuiper-DeGraaf (MKD) Funeral Home located at 4145 Chicago Drive, Grandville. Friends and relatives may meet with family one hour prior to the service on Wednesday.  Burial will take place at Oak Grove Cemetery.