Phyllis Aker, age 91, of Watertown, SD passed away on Thursday, August 6, 2020 at her residence.

There will be private funeral services Monday, August 10, 2020 at Wight & Comes Funeral Chapel in Watertown with Reverend Elmer Brinkman officiating.

Phyllis' services will be recorded and posted on her obituary page on our website when available.

Interment will be at Mt. Hope Cemetery in Watertown.

Pallbearers will be Jason, Aaron and Andrew Pratt, Joshua Aker, Derrick Nelson and Allen Henfling.

Honorary Pallbearers will be her caregivers: Terry Aker, Jessica Nelson, Katie Josephsen, Gloria VanDykhorst, Kathy Johnson, Kristi Stormo, Savanah Hinker and Jody Johnson.

Phyllis Marjorie Mitchell was born October 22, 1928 to Harrison “Shorty” D. and Ida A. (Mortenson) Mitchell, at their farm home in Mazeppa Township, Grant County, Summit, South Dakota. Her first ten years were on the farm and she attended Mazeppa Township Country School for three years. The family then moved to Summit where Phyllis went to the Summit Public School until half way through her junior year in January 1945. She started working during the Christmas Holiday at the Thompson Café in Summit and continued working rather than going back to school. She also worked at Olson’s Grocery and Peoples State Bank.

Phyllis was united in marriage to Clifford C. Aker on April 3, 1948 in Webster, South Dakota. She then stayed home to be a homemaker and raise the children. The couple lived in Watertown for a short time before moving back to Summit where they lived until 1950. They moved to Sisseton and lived there for three years and then moved to a farm northwest of Summit. In 1955 they made their home in Watertown where they stayed. From 1971-1991 Phyllis worked as a receptionist at Werner Chiropractic and then at Kiefer Chiropractic Clinic.

Phyllis was a member of First United Methodist Church and volunteered for Meals on Wheels for 20 years. She had been a member at Cornerstone Methodist Church and the Summit Methodist Church. Phyllis had been a member of the Hilltopper Club from 1956-2012 and Former Summit Girls.

She enjoyed her family and friends, traveling, reading, dancing and card games.

Phyllis is survived by her loving husband, Clifford of Watertown, SD; their daughter, Diana (Allen) Henfling Watkins, MN, and her son, Jason (Jill) Pratt of Hazel, SD, Aaron (Nicole) Pratt and their daughter, Adalynn Pratt, Andrew and Elizabeth Pratt of Hazel, SD; her son, Terry Aker and his children, Jessica (Derrick) Nelson, and Joshua Aker (Katie Josephsen) of Watertown, SD; her sister, Lois (Aker) Cotten of Watertown, SD; one brother-in-law, Ronald Aker of Watertown, SD; a sister-in-law, Ila Mitchell of Summit, SD; and several nieces and nephews.

Phyllis was preceded in death by her parents, Harrison and Ida; her son, Lonnie Aker; five sisters, Alice Adolphsen, Iola Long, Evelyn Drovdal, Pauline Jensen and Caroline Aker; three brothers, James, Stanley and Paul Mitchell; three sisters-in-law, Amy Mitchell, Helen Mitchell and Lorene Aker; her brothers-in-law, Vernon Adolphsen, Vernon Long, Arthur Drovdal, Alton Aker, Vernon Jensen and Hollis Cotten; four nieces, Doris Adolphsen, Debra Prins, Janice Bock and Karen Drovdal; and three nephews, Jerry and Dennis Mitchell and Gene Drovdal.

Arrangements by Wight & Comes Funeral Chapel, www.wightandcomes.com