Phyllis Baker Van Wagenen was born December 6, 1915 in North Ogden, Utah, the daughter of Clarence Marcellus and Myrtle Ririe Barker, the fourth of nine children. She grew up and was educated in North Ogden, where she was an excellent student and woman athlete before her time. At North Ogden Junior High School she was the first girl elected Student Body President. She graduated from Weber High School and then attended Weber College in Ogden, where she was selected as Queen of the fall Acorn Ball. After graduating from Weber College she enrolled in Brigham Young University where she met Frank Van Wagenen. They were married on September 15, 1937.
In early 1944, her husband Frank volunteered for military duty and was commissioned a Lieutenant J.G. in the Navy. He left for the South Pacific and for the next two years Phyllis raised their three oldest children on her own. During that time she had three brothers also serving in the War, one of whom, James Barker, paid the ultimate price as a member of the 10th Mountaineers in northern Italy.
Her greatest athletic accomplishments were as a golfer. In 1963 and 1965 she won first place in The LDS senior women's golf tournament. For the first 50 years of playing golf she had several close calls at holes-in-one, but didn't get an Ace until in her 70's, when she did it three times.
Phyllis was active in several clubs and associations, including the Daughters of Utah Pioneers, and the American Legion's Women's auxiliary where she served as Captain. She was a member of Bonheur Club, Readers' Guild, and the Silver Slipper Dance Club. She served in the Women's division of the Provo Chamber of Commerce, serving as President for two consecutive terms. She was very successful with the chamber in raising money for UVSC in the early years when its existence was being challenged.
She died on April 28, 2007.
(Biographical note taken for an obituray printed in the
The Phyllis Baker Van Wagenen correspondence (1979, 1982) consists of a postcard and a letter both written by Sonia Johnson to Van Wagenen. Johnson writes about her involvement with the Equal Right Amendment and thanks Van Wagenen for her support.
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Collection Name, Collection Number, Box Number, Folder Number. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah.
Donated by Michael Scott Van Wagenen in 2012.
Processed by Betsey Welland in 2014.
See also the