PHYLLIS ROSSITER-MODELAND

A private graveside observance was held at the Pontiac Cemetery, Pontiac, Missouri, for Phyllis Jo Rossiter-Modeland, a widely-known and award-winning Ozarks writer, who has died at age 69.
Born in Carthage, Missouri, Phyllis grew up in Kansas City. She was a long-time resident of Ozark County, Missouri, and, for a time, was editor of the Ozark County Times newspaper in Gainesville. Her love of writing about the Ozarks and its people resulted in many awards both fiction and non-fiction books, magazine and newspaper articles. Her non-fiction book, "A Living History of the Ozarks," published by Pelican Publishing Company, Gretna, Louisiana, in 1992, has been reprinted several times and remains in demand today as a factual and fun guide to the people, places and history of the region.
Her other books, include the young adult novels; "On the Scent of Danger," published by Avalon; "Moxie," published by Four Winds Press, and "Where Eagles Soar," published as an electronic novel by Crossroads. "Moxie," the story of a boy growing up in the Dust Bowl and Depression days of the 1930's on a farm in Kansas, was also published in German by Roman Press.
More than 125 of her articles and columns have been published and praised in the United States and elsewhere. Short stories by her are included in the "First Anthology of Missouri Women's Writers," and other literary collections. She was a contributor to the Missouri Conservation Department's "Missouri Conservationist" magazine, and for many years wrote a regular column, A Sense of Place," for the Ozarks Mountaineer magazine.
Phyllis's awards have included honors from The Author's Guild, Society of Children's Book writers, Missouri Writers' Guild, Ozarks Writers League, and nominations to Maquis'"Who's Who of American Women" and "Who's Who of American Writers."
She is survived by her husband, Vernon Modeland, at their home in Marion County, Arkansas; one son, Eric Rossiter who, with his wife, Cheryl, lives in Independence, Mo; sister, Carol Anderson, Aurora, Colorado, and a brother, Larry Anderson, The Villages, Florida. There are two grandchildren, Manse and Zachery Rossiter, both living in the Kansas City area. Phyllis was preceded in death by her father, Howard Anderson and mother, Paulene Crawford Anderson. Her first husband, Dennis Rossiter, a retired General Motors-Kansas City inspector, preceded her in death and also is buried at Pontiac.