CALISTOGA, Calif. – Phyllis Marie Pellegrini of Calistoga, Calif. died on Wednesday, May 6, 2020 surrounded by her immediate family and under the care of Calabria Hospice. She was 89 years old and the beloved matriarch of her family.Phyllis was born on Staten Island, N.Y. on March 4, 1931 to Joseph McBreen and Alice (McCarthy) McBreen. She graduated from St Peter’s Catholic High School in 1948 and went on to Wagner College majoring in Biology. In 1951 she married fellow New Yorker and the love of her life, George Pellegrini, with whom she was married for 69 years. Together they had five children.George and Phyllis initially settled down on Staten Island, where they had two of their five children, David and Wayne. Their next move was to Jacksonville, Fla. where the last of their five children (Gayle, Mark and Dana) were born. Throughout their life together George and Phyllis lived many places including: New York, Florida, Texas, Connecticut, Maine, Israel, and for the past 22 years, Calistoga, Calif.Throughout her life, Phyllis was first and foremost a homemaker to George and the children. She loved her family and found the greatest happiness in their company. Though Phyllis was a dedicated homemaker, when her children became school age, she expanded her interests and energies out into her community wherever she lived. In her middle years, Phyllis worked as a medical secretary for the novelist/surgeon, Dr. Richard Hornberger, the author of the novel Mash that was later turned into a movie and T.V series. Phyllis was also in the real estate profession for a time; her area of interest was researching public records. In Portland, Maine she worked for a Christian bookstore where she combined two of her passions: reading and her Christian faith. In the eighties, she ventured to Haifa, Israel where she and George worked in a youth hostel. This experience was one she cherished, as she always wanted to visit the holy land. Phyllis’s last job was working for the Calistoga Chamber of Commerce where she met the local business community and visitors to the Napa Valley. This final position gave her a deeper understanding of the Calistoga community, which she loved.Phyllis’s passion throughout the many places that she lived was always rooted in her church life. In Calistoga she was an active member of Highland Christian Church where she was Deacon of Women’s Prayer. Phyllis loved living the last chapter of her life in the Napa Valley and often mentioned how blessed she felt living in this beautiful valley surrounded by mountains. Phyllis is survived by her husband, George Pellegrini of Calistoga, Calif.; sister, Claire Palmer of Staten Island, NY; son, David Pellegrini and his wife Alice of Louisville, Ky., son, Wayne Pellegrini and his wife Mindy of Camano Island, Wash., daughter, Gayle Pellegrini Giguere and her partner Greg Landry of Carrabassett Valley, Maine, son, Mark Pellegrini and his wife Christine of Haverhill, NH, daughter Dana Pellegrini Osbourne and her husband Kendall of Napa, Calif.; 13 grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren.There will be a family celebration of life in early August.

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