Phyllis Menke, 98

Phyllis McMurtrie Menke, beloved mother of four children, 14 grandchildren and 32 great-grandchildren, passed away Friday, May 24, 2024 at the age of 98. She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert H. Menke in 2008; her parents, Robert Harold (1976) and Marion Gabriel McMurtrie (1996); her sister, Joan Wulfman (2016); and a great-granddaughter, Katharine Wible Middendorf at 17 months. 

She is survived by her four children, Susan Weir Kruger (Skip deceased) of Holland, Dr. Karen Middendorf (Dr. Wayne – deceased) of Athens GA, Robert H. Menke Jr, “Hank” (partner Corinna Dugan) of Huntingburg and Dr. David Menke (Carolyn) of Jacksonville, FL. 

Grandchildren include Jeff Weir (Tracy) of Kennesaw, GA, Josh Weir (Marisela) of Naperville, IL, and Melissa Boeglin (Brandon) of Holland; Ben Middendorf (Jennings) of Atlanta, GA, Dr. Katie Middendorf (Dr. Fernando) of Corvallis, OR, Dr. Chris Middendorf (Dr. Stephanie) of Athens, GA and Emily Middendorf (Kjetil Hallre) of Honefoss Norway; Ryan Menke (Kimberly) of Holland, Jon Menke (Allison) of Holland, Cory Menke (Kelsey) of Huntingburg and Molly Prior (Justin) of Huntingburg; Dr. Josh Menke (Dr. Stephanie Cheng) of Redwood City, CA, Jacob Menke of Ann Arbor, MI, and Jessica Bowling (Jacob) of Jacksonville, FL. 

Phyllis McMurtrie Menke lived a long, beautiful life and never did anything halfway. Her early married years were filled with PTA, Girl Scouts, gardening (canning and freezing produce from the garden), baking bread weekly and on Saturdays alternating between cinnamon rolls and donuts. In her spare time, she made ceramics, sewed doll clothes and matching outfits for herself and her two daughters. She subscribed to “Book of the Month Club” reading one classic novel per month. As grandchildren began to arrive at the age of 42, she began making quilts – all by hand and perfectly pieced together. Genealogy became another passion. 

Phyllis was a woman of energy and purpose. In filling out a form for occupations, education and memberships, she wrote: design consultant for Styline / OFS, Bachelor degree from IU in Fine Arts, Phi Beta Kappa Tri-Delta sorority, DAR, Mayflower Society, Magna Carter Dames, Plantagenet Society, American of Royal Descent, Study Club, Salem United Church of Christ and founder of the Huntingburg Foundation. 

After her children left home, Phyllis diverted her energy and work ethic to the family furniture company and to the community. Phyllis’s father and grandfather had started the Huntingburg Furniture Company in 1911. Her husband Bob started Ferdinand Furniture Company which merged with the family business DuCraft to form Styline. Once her son Hank joined the family business in 1978, the name was changed to OFS (Office Furniture by Styline). 

Phyllis served on the OFS Board of Directors, led many history tours for OFS customers and spoke at many company events. She considered the company her family. 

Phyllis came from a family who expected one to give back to their community. Her philanthropy was directed toward restoration of Huntingburg’s Old Town Hall, and Salem Church’s Steeple. She funded many projects including the Huntingburg Event Center, Huntingburg Main Street redevelopment, Huntingburg Market Square, Fairmont Cemetery’s fence, Huntingburg’s new entrance signs and Salem Church’s new organ. Hers was a life well lived and lived well.

Phyllis’ only request for her funeral service was to include her favorite music. Music will begin at 3 p.m. on Friday, June 14, at Salem United Church of Christ in Huntingburg. The service will begin at 3:30 p.m. followed by a brief committal service at Fairmont Cemetery. A Celebration of Life will be held at Cool Springs following the services. Nass & Son Funeral Home in Huntingburg has been entrusted with the arrangements.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to:

Fairmont Cemetery, https://www.fairmountcemeteryinc.com/donate or Heart-to-Heart Hospice, https://www.htohhfoundation.org/donation.

Condolences may be shared at www.nassandson.com.