Phyllis J. (Smith) Welter

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Welter, Phyllis J. (née Smith) Age 76, of Minneapolis and Healds-burg, California, passed away the 9th of June in Healdsburg. Born September 30, 1939, in Evansville, Indiana, Phyllis was the second child of Beulah and William Everett Smith. Her father passed away when she was nine and after her mother remarried the family relocated to Muncie, Indiana. She graduated from Purdue University with a degree in history and earned an MBA in marketing from Michigan State. In midlife she completed a law degree at the William Mitchell College of Law. She is survived by her loving husband of five years, Dan Gustafson; two sons, Eric Welter and Darren Welter, Eric's wife, Kimberley; and grandson, Paul Thomas Welter; Dan's family, daughter, Kristen; son, Jeffrey, their spouses and four step-grandchildren; a brother, Douglas, and a step-sister, Gretchen. Phyllis moved to Minneapolis to work for General Mills; soon after she met her first husband, Paul Welter, an attorney with Merchant & Gould. They were married for forty years until his death in 2006. She worked as a corporate attorney for Land O'Lakes, Munsingwear, Minnetonka Inc., and was general counsel for Farm Credit, a twelve billion dollar financial institution. In 1987 she formed Survey Counsel, Inc., specializing in trademark law, and in the 1990s she published an authoritative work on trademark law. She served on the Social Justice Committee and the Finance Council of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and served as an Eucharistic minister at Augustana. Phyllis served on many Boards, including The Woman's Club of Minneapolis and the HOA Board of Loring Green Condominiums. She was an accomplished photographer, publishing three books of her photography from all over the world. She wrote her father's biography, chronicling his experiences in Europe in WWII. In 2015 she completed her memoir entitled, "One Woman's Journey to Enlightenment". She loved to travel, visiting 48 countries in her lifetime. She met her husband, Dan, on an airplane at the beginning of a trip around the world in February 2010 and they were married the following November and spent six wonderful years together. Funeral services on Friday, June 24th at the Basilica of St. Mary, 88 North 17th St, Minneapolis, MN 55403. Visitation at 10 a.m. Funeral Mass at 11 a.m. Reception to follow at The Woman's Club of Minneapolis, 410 Oak Grove St, Minneapolis, MN 55403. Memorial gifts may be made to Legal Aid of Minnesota and Catholic Charities.

Published on June 19, 2016