Skokie Mourns the Passing of Phyllis Sutker

Phyllis Sutker, lifelong volunteer and leader in the local, national and international Jewish community, passed away this November at the age of 83. She was the former national president of NA'AMAT USA and served as a delegate to six World Zionist Congresses.

Her husband of 60 years, Calvin R. Sutker, former Cook County commissioner, said that her life had been devoted to bettering the lives of others.

She was a friend of Leah Rabin, wife of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, and worked closely with former Prime Minister Shimon Peres and other Israeli officials. Mrs. Sutker was an elected member of the American Section of the World Zionist Executive and the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency. She graduated from the University of Chicago with a master's degree in social work, and became a leader in the local, national and international Jewish community. The Sutkers were honored by the American Zionist Movement in 2002.

She joined NA'AMAT because she "wanted to meet new people and serve the Jewish community," said a daughter, Sharon Sutker McGowan. "My mother was a wonderful role model. She taught us the importance of keeping family a top priority." added daughter Edie Sue Sutker, a Skokie Village trustee.

"We called her everyday. My mother was devoted to us and we were devoted to her," said another daughter, Shelley Sutker-Dermer, a Cook County Circuit Court judge. Her son Allen went on to say, "My mother never stopped making friends. She still had friends from her childhood, and she made a whole new group of friends in her 70s."

Other survivors include her stepbrother, Lloyd Kline, and eight grandchildren.

Services were held at Ezra Habonim, the Niles Township Jewish Congregation, 4500 W. Dempster, in Skokie. Burial was In Westlawn Cemetery.