About Me

My name is Phyllis Adair DeWitt-VanVleck.  I was born in Hammond, Indiana. As our family grew to six children, my mother baked breads and sweet goods to supplement our income. I would carry them around Hammond and sell the goodies out of a basket.

When we moved out of town, to a sand hill, on Ridge Road, in Griffith, Indiana, mom raised chickens.  Customers came as far as from Chicago to purchase chickens.

Dad was trained as a classical violinist and suplemented his day job, during the depression, by playing fiddle at night. He even had a program on the radio, for a time. The title was “Dad DeWitt and the Pumpkin Huskers.”  My oldest brother, ditched school and taught himself to play guitar.  he played and sang on the radio show and, at 16, he already had “groupies.”

  At Christmas my aunt, the band members wives and we girls sang along.

The final permanent member of our family was my paternal Grandfather, John Edward DeWitt. But, it seemed there was a constant stream of relatives and musicians through our home.

About my brotherss: Richard Edward “Ed” DeWitt, was the oldest. He eventually taught himself to play violin and several other instruments and supplemented his income as an adult with his music.  He passed away a few years ago. Donald Wesley DeWitt, my younger brother, was killed during the Battle of the Bulge when his weapon exploded, due to the American bullet makers loaded the shells with TNT, when they ran out of gun powder. 

Sisters included: Beverly Ada DeWitt-McCarter, who lives in Tennessee. Irma Lee “Sally” Dewitt-Walters, who lives in northern Indiana and Patricia Anne “Patsy” De-Witt-Dixon.  Patsy lost her home to Hurricane Katrina and passed away in 2006 from lung cancer.

I married Harold Guy VanVleck and got two for the price of one, in his adorable little daughter, Evelyn Louise VanVleck-Hrusovszky.  She lives in Arizona.

We added David Merle VanVleck and Sheryl Adair VanVleck to our family. David’s death, in 1990 at age 46, left a hole in our lives and hearts.

Harold and I retired to Baxter County Arkansas, where I became very involved in the poetry community and served as President of The Baxter County Poets. When my husband fell ill, in 1998, we moved in with daughter, Sheryl, who was then living in Wyoming. My husband died three months later.

Eventually, we  moved back to Indiana, and when Sheryl took in three of her grandson’s, I decided it was time for my own apartment.