Phylis Joan Richards

Phylis Joan Richards passed away peacefully at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, Mass., on Friday, Feb. 2, 2018 after a long struggle with carcinomatosis and renal failure. She was 71.
She was married to her childhood sweetheart, Carl Richards, the former owner and operator of Richards Funeral Home in West Milford, N.J., for 49 years.
The daughter of Paulina Serafin and Robert D. Nimmo Sr., she was born in Passaic and grew up in Bloomingdale, N.J., graduated from Butler High School (class of 1964) and studied mechanical drafting at Newark College of Engineering (now NJIT) before working as a draftswoman at Mosler Airmatic Systems in Wayne, N.J.
The Richards resided in West Milford, N.J., from 1972 to 1986 and in Warwick, N.Y., from 1986 to 2000, when they relocated to the town of Chatham on Cape Cod.
Phylis had many adventures traveling the world with her husband, including trips and cruises to the Caribbean, Central and South America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, as well as travels to nearly all fifty of the United States.
While living in West Milford she was active with the West Milford Junior Women's Club and served as its president in 1974.
Phylis was a successful independent seamstress for more than thirty years and enjoyed sharing her love of cooking, quilting and sewing through the Mother's Day Out program of the West Milford Presbyterian Church, 4-H Club volunteering, private lessons and teaching her grandsons.
She is survived by her husband Carl, daughters Jessica Curtis of Norwich, Conn., and Dr. Amy Grayson of Brookline, Mass., brothers Robert D. Nimmo Jr. and Thomas Nimmo, four grandsons: Will and Ben Curtis and Joshua and Adam Grayson, and her beloved African Gray parrot, Dusty.
Phylis requested that anyone wishing to honor her memory do so by performing an anonymous act of kindness for someone in need. Alternatively, a donation to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, 450 Brookline Avenue, Boston MA 02215 would be appropriate and appreciated.
Funeral arrangement were handled by Doane, Beal & Ames Funeral Home in West Harwich, Mass. For online guestbook, visit www.doanebealames.com.