Longtime Lake Country Food Bank manager passes away

LAKE COUNTRY — The woman who ran the Lake Country Food Bank for more than 30 years has passed away.

Phyllis MacPherson died over the weekend, peacefully in her sleep, according to Bob Rymarchuk with the Rotary Club of Lake Country.

“Phyllis has been a big part of our lives out here for a long time. It’s going to be big shoes to fill,” says Rymarchuk.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Phyllis has been a big part of our lives out here for a long time. It's going to be big shoes to fill," says Rymarchuk.

MacPherson had been sick for several months but Rymarchuk says many members of the Rotary Club and volunteers at the food bank are in shock after hearing about her passing.

“We knew she hadn’t been well for a while but with ongoing back and fourth into the hospital, we were kind of wondering what was happening but didn’t want to interfere too much with what was really her personal matters. We were pretty shocked,” says Rymarchuk.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We knew she hadn't been well for a while but with ongoing back and fourth into the hospital, we were kind of wondering what was happening but didn't want to interfere too much with what was really her personal matters. We were pretty shocked," says Rymarchuk.

Rymarchuck says the Rotary Club was planning to announce that the keys to the new Lake Country Food Bank building would have been handed over to MacPherson and other food bank staff and volunteers this Wednesday.

READ MORE: Thousands of volunteer hours help build Lake Country food bank

“With everything else that is going on with Phyllis’ passing, it’s just not the time to be doing it.”

READ MORE: Lake Country Food Bank construction finally underway

Rymarchuck says MacPherson had slowly started to step back from her role at the food bank over the past five months as her health deteriorated, but she continued to put in whatever efforts she could.

Although she didn’t get to see the long-awaited new food bank building she had been hoping for and working towards, she did witness its progress.

“She had been involved in it right up until probably three weeks or so ago, she saw [the new food bank building] substantially complete. She had a very good idea of what is happening,” says Rymarchuk.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "She had been involved in it right up until probably three weeks or so ago, she saw [the new food bank building] substantially complete. She had a very good idea of what is happening," says Rymarchuk.

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