Phyllis Montoya – May 2, 2024

Phyllis Jean Montoya was born on April 29, 1939, in Trinidad, Colorado. She passed away on May 02, 2024, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, after a swift decline in health due to pancreatic cancer. She was 85 years of age.

Phyllis is survived by her brother Charles, her brother Ruben Jr., her sons Manuel and Michael, her daughter Linda, her grandson who she raised like a son Jason, her granddaughters Jessica and Sararose, and her great grandchildren Nina, Noah, and Adrian along with many loyal friends and extended family members. Phyllis was preceded in death by her father Ruben, Sr. and mother Lily, her sister Maxine, and her brother James.

A deeply devoted mother, sister, aunt, cousin, grandmother, and friend. She lived a life full of love, hard work, determination through adversity, and loads of laughs. She was always there to help the people she cared for no matter the cost, no matter the time, no matter the energy, she stepped up for those in need. She was also known to crack a joke or two at just the right moment, often throwing out quirky one-liners, or saying the sassiest most unexpected thing she could think of to get a laugh. Ask anyone who knew her for a story, and I promise you will see them crack a smile before they tell you a story sure to make you laugh.

Throughout her life she went from being the life of the party in her younger years to a homebody who danced in her kitchen and was always ready to spill the tea. A worrier to say the least, she spent much of her days worrying about her loved ones as well as their loved ones. She felt a personal responsibility to worry on behalf of everyone. She often suffered in silence, not wanting to worry others as she so often was, but her strong-will, strength, and resiliency helped her bounce back from all the obstacles life threw her way. Even at the end as her health declined everyone that she interacted with walked away with a smile, she left her mark on every person she encountered.

I will end with this, when her grandson Jason was a toddler, she asked him with her arms out, “How much do you love me?”  He looked up at her, put his arms out as far and wide as he could possibly get them and said, “Gram, I love you all the way to my back!”  That is the best way I can describe the love between a mother and her children, no matter the time or distance between us, the love we have for one another is more than we could ever hold.

We love you Gram, all the way to our backs!

A small private gathering will be held in honor of Phyllis as she requested.