Phyllis Knapp Stas

Phyllis Knapp Stas, 92, of the Ardenwoods Retirement Community, passed away Tuesday, January 14, 2020.

Born in Queens, NY, Phyllis was the daughter of the late Shepherd and Esther Byrnes Knapp. She was also preceded in death by her husband, John Michael Stas and one sister, Lois Stovall.

Phyllis grew up in the suburbs of Main Line Philadelphia and summered at her home on Long Beach Island, NJ. She graduated from Briarcliff College in NY and worked in the fashion department at Strawbridge and Clothier as a Fashion Commentator and Coordinator. Later, she worked as the Executive Assistant to the Personnel Director at City Service Oil Company.

In 1953, she married a Dutchman named Michael Stas, the #1 ranked tennis player in Holland on the Dutch Davis Cup tennis team. He had also been involved with the Dutch underground during the Nazi occupation of Holland. Phyllis and Michael became world travelers, honeymooning on the Queen Mary and later visiting many foreign countries. While living in Bermuda, she worked as a fashion model and became famous as “the Bermuda litter girl”.

For 48 years, Phyllis served on the Volunteer Board at Bryn Mawr Rehabilitation Hospital, working many fundraisers. For 20 years, she was deeply involved with “Art Ability”; a yearly event held at the Rehab Hospital to showcase and sell art work done by disabled artists from around the world.

Throughout her life, Phyllis embraced a positive outlook and a truly joyful spirit. She loved meeting new people, and experiencing new things. One of her favorite days of the year was April Fool’s Day. She spent exorbitant amounts of time planning her practical jokes and delighted in pulling them off. Phyllis’s unique gift was to make everyone she spoke to feel special and loved. This joyful and loving spirit helped to not only bring her friends together, but also brought generations of her family together for numerous memorable visits and family reunions.

Phyllis is survived by two daughters, Michele Stahl (Kent) of The Cliffs Community in Arden and Holly Brown (Dave) of Boulder, CO, as well as five grandchildren.

A well attended memorial service was held at Ardenwoods Retirement Community with family and friends. In lieu of flowers, it was Phyllis’ wish to have memorial donations be made, in respect and love to her grandson Austin Stahl, to the Charcot-Marie-Tooth Research Foundation (www.cmtrf.org/inmemorystas) or 4062 Peachtree Road, Suite A209, Atlanta, GA 30319.

Groce Funeral Home at Lake Julian is assisting the family. If you wish to leave a message of condolence or share a memory with the family, please visit Phyllis’ obituary page at www.grocefuneralhome.com.