Phyllis C. Von Fange, 98, Salina died November 9, 2026. Phyllis was born August 22, 1928, in Lincoln County, Kansas to Harold and Lillie (Schroeder) Meier. She was baptized at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Lincoln, Kansas. On March 29, 1942, she was confirmed at Zion Lutheran Church, Guthrie Oklahoma, where she graduated from its parochial school. She married Marvin E. Von Fange on October 10, 1948, at St. Paul ‘s Lutheran Church, Lincoln, Kansas. They were lifetime residents of Salina except for six months in 1950 when they lived in Medicine Lodge, Kansas. Phyllis and Marvin transferred their memberships from St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Lincoln, Kansas to join Trinity Lutheran Church, Salina, Kansas in 1948.
Phyllis graduated from Beverly Rural High School in 1946. The following summer she attended college at Hays State Teacher’s College. She taught in a country grade school near her rural home for one school year. She then graduated from Wichita Business College. Following her graduation, Phyllis started working in February 1948 as a secretary at The Office Assistant, a public secretarial and bookkeeping firm in Salina. In 1951, she and Marvin purchased the business and operated it for 33 years. During this time, as part of her job, Phyllis also served as the Executive Officer for the Kansas Lumbermen’s Association, the Salina Home Builders Association, and the Salina Board of REALTORS©. In 1985, after officially closing their office, Phyllis accepted full-time employment with the Salina Board of REALTORS© and managed their office until retiring in December 1997, which gave her an accumulated total of 41 years working for the Salina Board of REALTORS©. Following retirement, Phyllis served part-time as the Volunteer Recruiter for Faith Village Resale, a downtown Salina thrift store, operated by the Bethesda Lutheran Homes, Inc., out of Watertown, Wisconsin.
As a member of Trinity Lutheran Church, she served eight years as Director of the Board of Evangelism and as Webmaster for the church’s website. Phyllis was also a long-time member of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML,) where she served in all the various local offices, most recently as secretary, and for eight years as Treasurer for the local Zone. For six years she was the Bylaws Chairman for the Kansas District and for four years she was a member of the national LWML Structure Committee.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Marvin, who died of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma cancer on January 10, 1989; a 24-year-old brother, David H. Meier, who died in a car accident January 9, 1969; brother Rev Harlan D Meier, Linn, Kansas; brother Rev William Wayne Meier, Thermopolis, Wyoming; brother Jerry Meier, Mesa, Arizona, and sister Charlene J Weatherd, Casper, Wyoming.
Survivors include her five children. Sons, Alan D. Von Fange (Harvetta) and Gary G. Von Fange all of Salina, Kansas; Daughters, Karen J. Wagoner (Paul) of Emory, Texas, Linda S. Morse (Bill) of Smolan, Kansas, and Brenda R. Barnhart of Emory, Texas. Two sisters, Carolyn F. Kuhlman of Shawnee, Kansas and Sharon N. Waltersdorf of Mesa, Arizona. Grandchildren, Kristina Freeland (Michael), Donny Heart (Keleigh), Courtney Miller (Grant), Mallory Taylor (Aaron). Great Grandchildren, Gabriel Freeland, Dominic Freeland, Oliver Freeland, Brooklyn Klein, Keaden Heart Abigail Heart, Eli Heart, Brinley Miller, Micah Miller, and Kaysen Taylor.
The funeral will be at Trinity Lutheran Church Salina, Kansas at 11:00 a.m., Friday, November 13,2026. Rev. Dennis Kootz will be officiating. Burial will be in the cemetery at St. Paul ‘s Lutheran Church, Lincoln, Kansas. Any memorials may be made to the Trinity Lutheran Church LWML or Seek First Christian School, Caddo Mills, Texas.