Phyllis Augustine

Obituary

On September 7, 2024, heaven received a new angel as we bid farewell to Phyllis Augustine of Orlando, Florida at the age of ninety eight. Phyllis was born Philomena Vacca on June 5, 1926 to Italian born immigrants, Clara (Fusco) Vacca and Bernard Vacca and the family lived together in Youngstown, Ohio. She was the fourth of five children and adored her siblings; John, Gabe, Bernie and Anita. Phyllis is predeceased by each of them, and we know, so happy to be reunited with them again.

As a young girl inspired by her mom’s Italian culture, Phyllis loved to be in the kitchen alongside her learning to cook and bake, and then through a time in which she lived with her aunt, learned how to keep a squeaky clean, organized home. It is through these experiences that she deemed herself a domestic goddess of sorts. If you needed to know how to set a table, iron linens, make a bed, bake a cake or cook a delicious meal, Phyllis was your girl! If you needed to be critiqued for doing it incorrectly, Phyllis was still your girl.

As an adult, Phyllis worked at the local A&P grocery store in customer service for many years. That is where she met the love of her life, Dominic Augustine. After much pretend grocery shopping, he finally got up the nerve to ask her for a date and the rest is history. They married, worked hard and saved enough to eventually buy a home in Struthers, Ohio. They later adopted two children, Ann (Anna-Maria) and Dom (Dominic Jr.). Phyllis and Dominic absolutely loved being parents and it was their collective goal to have a happy home and create a beautiful life for their family until sadly, Dominic died suddenly from a heart attack, and Phyllis became a single parent of a six and eight year old, and a grieving widow.

Among Phyllis’s many talents and gifts, first and foremost was being a mom. She ran a tight ship with her goal always being preparing her kids to leave the nest with all the tools to make it on their own and flourish. She felt that was her greatest life’s mission. Her daughter Ann and son Dom are forever grateful to her for all she did to send them out into the world with the confidence to make things happen for themselves.

Phyllis also made time for the other things that made her heart happy. Being present in the lives of her siblings was important to her. Her sister Anita, whom she lived with for over two decades, was her best friend and co-pilot and their opposite personalities were great fun to watch. Phyllis also loved her pets and lit up at the sight of them. She loved bowling and volunteering at the church and did so often. Her favorite sport to watch was baseball. Despite being a Cleveland Indians fan, her favorite player was Pete Rose with the Cincinnati Reds. Even from heaven, she probably denies that.

Phyllis was so smart! She loved to watch game shows, especially “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy” in which she shockingly knew so many answers having had no education beyond high school or having been well travelled or even an avid reader. She loved to play games too, and constantly had stacks of crossword puzzles and word finds on hand.

Above all favorite pastimes, Phyllis loved to laugh. Her kids remember fondly, the sounds of her giggling out loud as she stayed up to watch Johnny Carson. She loved Johnny! Other favorites were “The Carol Burnett Show,” especially the skits featuring Carol and Tim Conway, “Mash” because she said it helped her relate to what it must have been like for her three brothers who all served in the war, and the “Mary Tyler Moore Show,” as she secretly wanted to be just like her. In fact, when she first moved to Orlando, FL and lived in a high rise apartment building downtown near the top floor, facing the night skyline and city park, she asked her daughter as they looked out the window with the glow of the stars and lights from the buildings, “Do you think it’s too late for me to be like Mary Tyler Moore?”

Phyllis had a sweet tooth like no other. Back in Ohio while raising her kids, she would occasionally treat them to McDonald’s and while they sat across from her with their Happy Meals, she would enjoy a hot fudge sundae, hot apple pie and a black coffee. Somehow the black coffee took the edge off the sugar. Sweets were also her way of both celebrating and soothing. If she was headed to nearby Dairy Queen to get a Peanut Buster Parfait, you knew it was either a very good day, or therapy. Later in life, she was introduced to a McDonald’s caramel frappe. This treat became a mainstay, and the joke was that bringing one along was the price of admission if you were to pay a visit to Phyllis. She had even started counting how many she had consumed, and was in the mid three hundreds before it was decided keeping track was just too much work.

Phyllis was a devout Roman Catholic, and her faith was central in her life. She believed it to be the reason she made it through three rounds of cancer among many other life obstacles. She never feared death and almost welcomed it as she viewed it as the next chapter rather than the end, and often talked about how she looked forward to reuniting with her family, friends and beloved pets, and how she couldn’t wait to meet Jesus in person.

Phyllis is survived by her daughter Ann Cane (Angelo), her son Dom Augustine (Tammy), her grandchildren Jessica (Nick), Jenna (Thomas), Noah (Alexa) and Natalie, and her great grandchildren, Liam, Emery and Owen. Phyllis treasured her children and grand children and will be forever watching over them.

While ninety eight years is an impressive feat, Phyllis had been patiently waiting to move on to her next chapter for quite some time. If anyone in heaven needs a few tips on how to set up shop and live their best life in the next chapter, Phyllis is your girl.

A funeral mass in Phyllis’s honor will be held on Thursday, October 24, 2024 at 10:30am at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church located at 526 N. Park Ave. in Winter Park, FL with a Celebration of Life reception to immediately follow at the historic City of Winter Park Country Club located at 761 Old England Ave. Winter Park, FL 32789.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Phyllis’s name to pet rescue, “The Way Home” (thewayhomerescue.org)