Phyllis Sullivan's 100th Birthday Celebration

0:00It's April 20th, Anchorage News Today starts now, AI powered and ready. Phyllis Sullivan just hit her 100th birthday and folks came out in droves to celebrate. Born in 1926, she moved to Alaska back in 1959 with her husband and three kids to teach in the village of Kwethlook and later Anchorage Middle Schools. She's dedicated her life to education, leaving a mark on generations of students. This weekend, over at Anchor Park United Methodist Church, an Anchorage family and former pupils packed the basement for the party. A slide show of old photos rode as Phyllis in her wheelchair but full of energy greeted everyone like long lost friends, even though she hadn't seen. In decades, her son Dennis called her the sweetest person alive, always putting teaching first. Former students share stories of her impact, like assigning poems they still recite years later, or refusing to punish upique speakers in class, when.

1:00Others did. One even became a teacher herself, inspired by Phyllis. She also opened her home to a family of seven kids displaced by the 1967 Fairbanks Flood, housing them for over three years, and helping them rebuild. Phyllis says she's doing great and joking that her mom made it to 103, so she's got time left to keep inspiring. What a legacy of kindness in the classroom.