Phyllis Alexander Riser, 89, of Park Ridge was a retired high school Latin and French teacher, and longtime member of the Women’s Board of Directors of the Episcopal Diocese, Chicago.
Mrs. Riser, a Chicago native, died Sunday in her home.
Mrs. Riser, wife of the late Dr. Roy O. Riser, an ophthalmologist in Park Ridge, got a bachelor’s degree in Latin with a minor in French from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1929, graduating magna cum laude.
She taught Latin and French at the former Maine Township High School from 1929 to 1936, and after raising her family, taught Latin and French at Morton West High School, Berwyn, from 1962 to 1974.
Mrs. Riser was a member of the Women’s Board of Directors of the Episcopal Diocese, Chicago during the 1950s and 1960s. She worked from parish to parish as Thank Offering chairman for the Diocese board. She held several appointed offices for Kappa Delta national sorority, including that of philanthropy chairman for efforts on behalf of disabled children, and was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma professional teachers sorority.
“She was gifted in many ways,” said her daughter, Virginia R. Scott. “One of them was her outreach to people, her ability to make new friends, even to the end of her life.”
Her daughter said Mrs. Riser valued her academic friends and her family. “She maintained friendships with former students,” she said. “She was part of the life of this community from the time she started teaching in 1929. My father set up a practice here in Park Ridge during the Depression. Her roots grew deep here.”
Other survivors include her son, William Riser; and three grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday in Ryan-Parke Funeral Home, 120 S. Northwest Highway, Park Ridge. Services will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday in St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, 306 Prospect Ave., Park Ridge.
