Mrs. Phyllis Accursio's Obituary
Our beloved mother Phyllis was called home to be with the Lord. She lived a beautiful, long life - with her 90th birthday just days away on August 1st. Our mother moved here from the Bronx, New York in 1947 with her parents and five siblings. Her grandmother came to Homestead ahead of her and met our future father Sam and his family who had moved here in 1942 from Boston. As our father used to tell it….”I fell in love with her before I met her” because of how her grandmother used to describe the beautiful little redhead named Phyllis. Once he met her, it sealed the deal and he was smitten! She was a beautiful and poised young woman - they fell in love and married in 1950. Our mother gave birth to her first child at 18 years old and had four more children after that: first was Jimmy, then Mary, Patty, Susie, and Sammy. We lived in a humble house in Florida city where our mother poured into us. She was a tireless and sacrificial wife and mother. It wasn’t easy living in a two-bedroom house with seven people…but our mother always found a way to make it warm and beautiful. She spent her days caring for her family: cooking, cleaning, and providing every need we had while looking beautiful at the same time. We always saw our mother with “lipstick on” not knowing when our dad would pop in because she wanted to look beautiful for him - which she always did! We had the benefit of learning from a mother that taught her daughters how to be a wife and mother, and her son how to choose a wife - because of the wonderful example that she was. She set a standard that she didn’t even know she was setting and she inspired each of us to want the same kind of life that we grew up with. We were blessed beyond measure, and she made an indelible mark on all of our lives. We also watched our mother navigate tragedy: the loss of her 18-year-old son while she herself was still just a very young woman. Even then, we watched a woman who remained determined to care for her family, amidst walking through her own unthinkable grief. She truly honored the role of wife and mother, and she continued ministering to her family even while dealing with her own suffering. To say that our mother will be missed does not even begin to express what we feel in our hearts. She is a precious gem and her worth to us cannot be measured by words on a page. She is now reunited with our father Sam, our sister Mary, and our brother Jimmy. She is survived by her daughters, Patty (Lon) and Susie (Tim), her son, Sammy (Monique), and her 12 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. Services for our mother will be held Sunday evening, August 6th at Branam Funeral Home from 6 to 8 PM and on Monday, August 7th starting at 10 am at Sacred Heart Church in Homestead. “Her Children rise up and call her Blessed; her husband also, and he praises her!” Proverbs 31:28
In Lieu of Flowers, please donate to the St. Jude Foundation - Memorial ID 23569363 or call 1-800-822-6344 to donate or mail donations to: 262 Danny Thomas Memphis, TN 38105 www.Stjude.org/donate
What’s your fondest memory of Phyllis?
What’s a lesson you learned from Phyllis?
Share a story where Phyllis' kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Phyllis you’ll never forget.
How did Phyllis make you smile?
