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 .