Memorial services for Phyllis Marie Guthrie Tiffany, 88, Lawrence will be held at 10:00 AM, Monday, April 26, 2021 at Warren-McElwain Mortuary in Lawrence. She died Monday, April 19, 2021 in Lawrence.
Phyllis was born the second of two children in Little River, KS on July 17, 1932 to Oliver Preston and Clara (Crandall) Guthrie. After high school, she earned her bachelor’s degree from KU before spending several years in New York City.
Returning to Kansas, she earned her Masters of Psychology from KU. While doing so, she married Donald Wayne Tiffany in 1961. Donald was a fellow student at KU, whom she met as a checkout attendant in the KU Union cafeteria when he made a point of coming through her line because he liked her smile.
In 1970 she joined the faculty of Fort Hays State University’s Psychology Department. While at Fort Hays, she also earned her PhD from Kansas State University. She became a tenured professor at Fort Hays and retired a Professor Emeritus.
With her husband, she co-authored a number of books on psychology and related topics. One of her hobbies was collecting antiques, and she briefly had her own store in the mid ‘70s.
Retiring to Lawrence with her husband in 1990, she was active in the Lawrence Rotary and Leadership Lawrence. Phyllis long enjoyed her dogs and was fond of Jayhawks Basketball, the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals. True to her interest in history, she supported the community as a Docent at the Watkins museum.
She leaves behind her son, Allen (Adeliza) Tiffany and daughter, Karen (Jeff) Dean, her nephews Preston (Diana) Guthrie and Patrick Guthrie, and six grandchildren: Natasha and Nikita Tiffany, Madelyn Dean, Andrew Dean, and Elinor and Cassandra Tiffany. All of her grandchildren spent many days playing with their grandparents in their home in Lawrence and enjoying Grandmother’s waffles and their grandparent’s stories. She was preceded in death by her husband, Donald Wayne Tiffany, and her brother, Ira Guthrie.
In lieu of flowers, please donate to the scholarship fund at the University of Kansas Endowment Center for women seeking PhDs. Checks can be made out to the Mary A. Grant Scholarship Fund and may be sent in care of Warren-McElwain Mortuary, 120 W. 13th Street, Lawrence, KS 66044.