Phyllis Marie Mansch was born Feb. 12, 1932, on King Avenue in Slayton to Earl and Dolores Priebe Peters. It was amid the Great Depression and according to family lore Earl, not wanting to accumulate debt, paid the doctor by selling a team of horses. Phyllis was baptized and later confirmed at Zion Lutheran Church in Iona. She grew up in Slayton and graduated second in her Slayton High School class in 1950, then attended Valparaiso (Ind.) University. One summer, she worked at Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone National Park. While working one day in Slayton as a carhop she noticed a young airman home on leave. It was Al Mansch, a friend from Zion Lutheran. He asked her out and their first date was at the Silver Star in Slayton. Their marriage in June 1955, was the first at the new Trinity Lutheran Church in Slayton. She moved with her growing family to Milwaukee, Wis., in 1963 and 10 years later moved back to Slayton when Al purchased the Murray Theater. Phyllis had studied business in college and helped her husband operate several businesses in Slayton, including the theater, an arcade and a successful Mansch Photo operation. Al died suddenly of a heart attack in 1986, but Phyllis remained in her hometown and worked several jobs, including management duties at an apartment complex. Later she was a fixture in Slayton while volunteering as an election official, Murray County Fair office worker and at Senior Linkage. For more than two decades she played baritone with the Slayton Community Band. She traveled extensively to visit family in Montana and elsewhere, and several times ventured to Europe. She lived at Sunrise Terrace from 202326 and in August of this year moved to Maple Lawn Senior Living in Fulda. She passed away of natural causes at Murray County Medical Center in Slayton on Sept. 7 at the age of 94. Her Christian faith was always the most important thing in her life. At her Wisconsin church she played the organ, and at Trinity Lutheran she sang in the choir, served as congregational secretary and was active with many dear friends in LWML activities. Phyllis enjoyed sports, especially baseball, and attended many events and ballgames that featured her sons, daughter and grandchildren.
Survivors include brothers Curtis and Leslie Peters, sons Scott of Slayton and Larry of Missoula, Mont., and daughter Lynn (Bill) Lamberty of Bozeman, Mont. Other survivors include her grandchildren: Amanda (Chris) Miesmer, Kristen Mansch and Jacob (Staci) Mansch of Great Falls, Mont., Bethany (Jake) Temple of Lakeville, Minn., Abigail Mansch of Missoula, Mont., Lincoln (Nicole) Mansch of Hyattsville, Md., Madison (Mitchell) Wassam of Hamilton, Mont., Nate (Jaclyn) Lamberty of Spokane, Wash., and Ellie Lamberty of Jackson Hole, Wyo. She is also survived by nine greatgrandchildren. Phyllis was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, sisters Byrdella, Betty Lou and Marlys, brother Richard, and daughter-in-law Kimberly Mansch.
Funeral Services were at Trinity Lutheran Church in Slayton, MN on Thursday, September 10, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. with Rev. Jeffery Williams officiating. The organist was Kathy Schwartz. The pallbearers were her grandchildren. Interment was at Slayton Memorial Gardens in Slayton, MN.
Visitation was one hour prior to the services at the church on Thursday.
Totzke Funeral Home of Slayton was entrusted with arrangements. To send condolences visit totzkefuneralhome. com
