Phyllis Yvette Clinton was born on December 25, 1953, in Cleveland, Ohio; the fifth child of the seven children born to Willie Clinton and Marceline Clinton (O’Neal). (Both deceased).

Phyllis attended school in the Cleveland Public School System and graduated in 1971 from John Addams High School. She did well in academics and found particular interest in sewing, dancing, and sports.
She was a kind, friendly, and caring person who always found time to listen to and support her family and anyone in need of comfort.

Phyllis became the beloved loyal companion and wife to George Smith, and a loving and caring mother to their only child, son Darnee. He relates that she was not short on discipline, teaching, and on hard work.

Phyllis learned about Jehovah as a child. Our father studied the Bible with us every week, using the Bible-based publication entitled: “From Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained”.

She learned many wonderful truths about Our Creator during these studies and our father was very firm about making sure that we regularly attended the weekly congregation meetings at the Kingdom Hall and made sure that we took part in the door-to-door preaching activities. The flame was lit in her heart for “the truth”.

As a child Phyllis was mischievous, adventurous, smart, and humorous. She often found herself in hilarious situations, but always managed to find her way out of them. She was resourceful, and recognized opportunities to make money by going door-to-door asking to run errands for neighbors.
(actions that would prove beneficial in later years).

Schoolmates and relatives recall her hosting gatherings at her home. You were always in for a laugh with Phyllis around. She was fun-loving, exceptionally generous, and made friends easily. She was loyal to her
family, and her sisters recall that she would not back down from defending them from bullies. She would take on the challenge and battle through the bruises. You could always count on her to be the first among her sisters to introduce and wear the latest fashions of the time. She was a very good dancer, and we sometimes joked about her being on Soul Train, a TV dance show. She was a sociable person; very hospitable and people found her a joy to be around.

Phyllis was also recognized for her singing ability and performed at local venues with her older brothers, who formed a singing group calling themselves ‘The Colossus Five’. She developed her talent as a seamstress and worked for a local dry-cleaning company (Blace Cleaners) doing clothing alterations and repairs. Friends and relatives were also able to enjoy wearing her fashion creations. She enjoyed sports and excelled in playing volleyball; even winning a trophy. Her favorite food was seafood, esp. crab legs.

She later became employed with RTA (Regional Transit Authority), as a bus driver and retired from there on April 13, 2012, after 28 years of public service. Her coworkers and supervisors recognized her professional demeanor and her dedication to performing her job well despite the challenging situations she encountered regularly.

Later in life, Phyllis began to search for a better relationship with her Creator, seeking to re-ignite the flame that was lit in her heart as a child. She began studying the Bible again and reached out to Jehovah’s Witnesses in her area and began attending the weekly meetings.

Unfortunately, Phyllis became very ill and faced a very serious medical condition. She sought comfort from the God she knew as “the God of all comfort” and continued studying the Bible while battling through her illness until she got better. Then the COVID-19 pandemic occurred.

Phyllis was not deterred and during the pandemic, she met on video conferencing with her congregation for regular meetings, engaged in the family worship arrangement with her siblings, and continued her ministry by writing letters and making phone calls. (She was affectionately called “Mother Goose’ by her Congregation members; referring to a story she would talk about her being chased by a goose when she got too close to her babies).

Phyllis made the truth her own, dedicated her life to serve Jehovah God and was baptized in August of 2020.

During the 4 years since then, she maintained a life full of spiritual activities. However, most recently, Phyllis became ill again unexpectedly, and was not able to recover from her illness.

Phyllis expressed to the medical staff and her family that her faith in the resurrection promise was real to her and deep in her heart. She expressed that she did not want sadness because she served a ‘Happy God’. She remained a faithful Jehovah’s Witness until her passing. Phyllis will be dearly missed. Her memory will be cherished by her son, Darnee Clinton, (of Alabama), ex-husband, George Smith, (Ohio), sisters, Vanita Clayton, (Ovell), (Ohio), Alicia George, Jerelyn Kay Clinton, and Farrell Clinton, (of Ohio) and 2 granddaughters, Heaven, and Lyric (of Alabama), and 3 great grandsons, along with many nieces, nephews, family & friends, including a host of spiritual brothers and sisters. She is preceded in death
by brothers Kenneth Clinton and Austin Clinton.