Phyllis Unruh

Phyllis Rudean Unruh of Fair Play, Missouri passed away in her home surrounded by her loving family on November 4, 2026. Phyllis was born in Tecumseh, Oklahoma on January 6, 1937, to parents Robert Eugene and Lena Jewell Little. She married Otis A. Rowlan and they had three children; Terry Rowlan (Debbie), Sherry Russell (Robert) and Deana Johansen (David). She then married Charles O Sparkman and had one child; Doug Sparkman (Stacy). In 1989, she married Bruce Unruh who passed away in 2004.

Phyllis lived in Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas and Missouri. She graduated high school from Campo, Colorado. In her working years she was a waitress and a factory worker which she retired from being a quality food inspector in 2002. She moved to Fair Play, Missouri in 2015 to be closer to family.

Phyllis is survived by five brothers and sisters, Lonnie Little (Judy), Latrisha Dodd (Albert), Dennis Little, Fay Pickens (Jerry) and Ramona Lundy (Kent), three children, nine grandchildren, sixteen great grandchildren, eight great-great grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.

She is preceded in death by her parents, her husbands, one sister, Tawana Johnson (Jimmy).

Memorial service for Phyllis will be Saturday, November 21, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. at Lanman Funeral Home Chapel in Helena, Oklahoma with inurnment to follow at Good Hope Cemetery. She will be laid to rest beside her late husband, Bruce Unruh. Arrangements are by Lanman Funeral Home, Inc. of Helena. www.lanmanfuneralhome.com Facebook: Lanman Funeral Home Inc