Phyllis E. McLeod
Phyllis Elaine McLeod, age 88, of Detroit Lakes, MN, passed away December 26, 2020 of complications related to Alzheimer’s Disease. Phyllis was born to Parnell and Evelyn Smeby in Fargo, ND on March 17, 1932. She attended Oak Grove Lutheran High School where she became an accomplished pianist and graduated at the age of seventeen with the class of 1949. She graduated from Moorhead State (Teachers College) University in 1950 with an Associate Degree in Education, later returning in 1972 to earn her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education. Phyllis started her teaching career in Detroit Lakes where she met Elton “Sonny” McLeod. They were married in Hickson, ND on August 17, 1952. They lived in Hibbing, MN for a few years before settling in Detroit Lakes to raise their family. Phyllis enjoyed a long career in teaching and assumed she would put her career on hold when she and Sonny started their family, but each time she tried to quit, the school wo