Obituary for Phyllis S. Schlecht
Phyllis S. Schlecht, 95, of 315 W. Norrie St., Ironwood, died Friday,
Sept. 23, 2011, at Westgate Nursing Rehabilitation & Assisted Living
Community in Ironwood. She was born Filippina Quaranta on May 6,
1916, in Duluth, Minn., the only child of Joseph and Rose Simone Quaranta. She
attended grammar school in Kansas City, Kans., then Washington Junior High
School and Central High School in Duluth. She began studying violin in grade
school and became so accomplished that she joined the Duluth Symphony Orchestra
while in high school. The founders of the Music Department at Duluth State
Teachers College (now UMD), professors Nyda and Jack Ehlert, invited her to
study there, and she received her B.A. in 1938. In college, as both a violinist and a
soprano she won several awards, including a scholarship to the Juilliard School
of Music in New York City. At Juilliard she studied voice with the noted opera
coach Madame Anna Schoen-René, whose students included Risë Stevens and Paul
Robeson. At the same time, she pursued her master’s degree at Columbia
University’s Teachers College and performed in orchestras and as a vocal soloist
throughout the city. With the start of World War II, she
returned to Duluth, then took her first teaching position, directing
instrumental music at Wakefield High School for three years. When she returned
there some twenty years later, her bands included children of students she had
instructed in the 1940s. She met and married her first husband in Wakefield in
1943. Her children of that union are Dr. Joseph A. Parisi of Chicago and Susan
G. Witt of Ironwood. After the war, she divorced. She returned
to Duluth, where she played first chair violin and became the concertmaster of
the Duluth Symphony until the early 1950s, while also employed as head buyer and
manager at Miles Music Company.
In 1953 Phyllis married J. Howard Schlecht
and they moved to Hurley, where he worked for L. & L. Amusement Co. Despite
handicaps suffered from a stroke in 1962, Howard remained well known as a
gunsmith. He preceded her in death in 1988. Their children are Mary E. Knorr of
La Canada, Calif., and Marilyn K. Carey of Ironwood. A third daughter, Margaret
A. Schlecht, long a resident of Basel, Switzerland, died suddenly in 2007.
Mrs. Schlecht, as she was known to legions
of students, returned to teaching in 1963, again at Wakefield High School, as
noted. In 1966 she took a position as head of vocal music in the Hurley school
system, teaching throughout the wide district until she retired in 1981. The
several concerts she conducted each season in the various schools were noted for
their consistently outstanding quality, while her choirs, vocal ensembles, and
many solo students won top prizes in regional and state competitions year after
year. She also gave private lessons in singing,
violin, viola, and other instruments; several of her pupils went on to
professional careers in music. She continued to perform as a violin and soprano
soloist throughout the area, playing in numerous chamber groups and theatrical
productions, as well as church services. For over
forty years she was a key and greatly admired member of the Chequamegon Symphony
Orchestra in Ashland, Wisc., serving as first chair violinist and concertmaster.
She continued to play with the orchestra into her 90s, and was presented a
special award for her extraordinary service. Besides her four surviving children, she
leaves seven grandchildren: Brian (Mikaele) Witt of Brillion, Wisc., Anne
(Keith) Bastman of Cape Cod, Mass., Margaret (Neil) Minkin of Anchorage, Alaska,
Michael Helinski of Mesa, Ariz., and Stephanie and Emily Carey of Ironwood. Her
five great-grandchildren are George and Glen Witt and Jillian, Audrey, and
Madelyn Bastman. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held
Thursday, Sept. 29, 11 a.m., at Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church in Ironwood,
with the Rev. Darryl Pepin and the Rev. Louis P. Bracket concelebrating. Special
musical selections will be performed by Mrs. Schlecht’s friends and former
colleagues, Leslie Kolesar (flute) and Sheila Mitchell (violin), accompanied by
Annette Burchell (piano). Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. in the
St. Joseph Family Room of the church. The Rite of Committal will also take place in the church.
A luncheon reception will follow at Manny’s restaurant, 316 E. Houk St., Ironwood . Donations in Phyllis Schlecht’s honor may
be made to the Chequamegon Symphony Orchestra, c/o Linda Calhan, 1119 Ellis
Ave., Ashland, Wisc. 54806. To view Phyllis Schlecht’s obituary online,
sign her guestbook or offer condolences, visit
mckevittpatrickfuneralhome.com. Arrangements are entrusted to
McKevitt-Patrick Funeral Home, Inc., Ironwood .
Sept. 23, 2011, at Westgate Nursing Rehabilitation & Assisted Living
Community in Ironwood. She was born Filippina Quaranta on May 6,
1916, in Duluth, Minn., the only child of Joseph and Rose Simone Quaranta. She
attended grammar school in Kansas City, Kans., then Washington Junior High
School and Central High School in Duluth. She began studying violin in grade
school and became so accomplished that she joined the Duluth Symphony Orchestra
while in high school. The founders of the Music Department at Duluth State
Teachers College (now UMD), professors Nyda and Jack Ehlert, invited her to
study there, and she received her B.A. in 1938. In college, as both a violinist and a
soprano she won several awards, including a scholarship to the Juilliard School
of Music in New York City. At Juilliard she studied voice with the noted opera
coach Madame Anna Schoen-René, whose students included Risë Stevens and Paul
Robeson. At the same time, she pursued her master’s degree at Columbia
University’s Teachers College and performed in orchestras and as a vocal soloist
throughout the city. With the start of World War II, she
returned to Duluth, then took her first teaching position, directing
instrumental music at Wakefield High School for three years. When she returned
there some twenty years later, her bands included children of students she had
instructed in the 1940s. She met and married her first husband in Wakefield in
1943. Her children of that union are Dr. Joseph A. Parisi of Chicago and Susan
G. Witt of Ironwood. After the war, she divorced. She returned
to Duluth, where she played first chair violin and became the concertmaster of
the Duluth Symphony until the early 1950s, while also employed as head buyer and
manager at Miles Music Company.
In 1953 Phyllis married J. Howard Schlecht
and they moved to Hurley, where he worked for L. & L. Amusement Co. Despite
handicaps suffered from a stroke in 1962, Howard remained well known as a
gunsmith. He preceded her in death in 1988. Their children are Mary E. Knorr of
La Canada, Calif., and Marilyn K. Carey of Ironwood. A third daughter, Margaret
A. Schlecht, long a resident of Basel, Switzerland, died suddenly in 2007.
Mrs. Schlecht, as she was known to legions
of students, returned to teaching in 1963, again at Wakefield High School, as
noted. In 1966 she took a position as head of vocal music in the Hurley school
system, teaching throughout the wide district until she retired in 1981. The
several concerts she conducted each season in the various schools were noted for
their consistently outstanding quality, while her choirs, vocal ensembles, and
many solo students won top prizes in regional and state competitions year after
year. She also gave private lessons in singing,
violin, viola, and other instruments; several of her pupils went on to
professional careers in music. She continued to perform as a violin and soprano
soloist throughout the area, playing in numerous chamber groups and theatrical
productions, as well as church services. For over
forty years she was a key and greatly admired member of the Chequamegon Symphony
Orchestra in Ashland, Wisc., serving as first chair violinist and concertmaster.
She continued to play with the orchestra into her 90s, and was presented a
special award for her extraordinary service. Besides her four surviving children, she
leaves seven grandchildren: Brian (Mikaele) Witt of Brillion, Wisc., Anne
(Keith) Bastman of Cape Cod, Mass., Margaret (Neil) Minkin of Anchorage, Alaska,
Michael Helinski of Mesa, Ariz., and Stephanie and Emily Carey of Ironwood. Her
five great-grandchildren are George and Glen Witt and Jillian, Audrey, and
Madelyn Bastman. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held
Thursday, Sept. 29, 11 a.m., at Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church in Ironwood,
with the Rev. Darryl Pepin and the Rev. Louis P. Bracket concelebrating. Special
musical selections will be performed by Mrs. Schlecht’s friends and former
colleagues, Leslie Kolesar (flute) and Sheila Mitchell (violin), accompanied by
Annette Burchell (piano). Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. in the
St. Joseph Family Room of the church. The Rite of Committal will also take place in the church.
A luncheon reception will follow at Manny’s restaurant, 316 E. Houk St., Ironwood . Donations in Phyllis Schlecht’s honor may
be made to the Chequamegon Symphony Orchestra, c/o Linda Calhan, 1119 Ellis
Ave., Ashland, Wisc. 54806. To view Phyllis Schlecht’s obituary online,
sign her guestbook or offer condolences, visit
mckevittpatrickfuneralhome.com. Arrangements are entrusted to
McKevitt-Patrick Funeral Home, Inc., Ironwood .