Pioneering FWBC Women’s Coach Passes

Your Fort Wayne Alumni Center has learned that former Fort Wayne Bible College (FWBC) Coach Phyllis J. Miller g53, 88, died on March 23, 2019. Phyllis was a pioneer of women’s athletics, both as a student at Taylor University Upland (TU) and as a coach at FWBC. As a high school student at South Side, she was voted the best female athlete during all four years. Upon entering Taylor, she joined the women’s basketball team, which went undefeated her first two seasons. She also served as president of the student Women’s Athletic Association.

Phyllis joined the FWBC athletic staff in the 1970s and founded both the women’s basketball and volleyball programs, building these new teams from the ground up. The volleyball team went on to win back-to-back NCCAC championships in 1977-78 and 1978-79, and Phyllis’s dedication to the sport laid the foundation for great success in the years to come. Phyllis was inducted into the Fort Wayne campus Alumni Hall of Fame in 2014. She was an athlete throughout her life and went to the Senior National Olympic Games five times.

Phyllis was preceded in death by her husband, Carl, and is survived by her son, two granddaughters, and two great-granddaughters. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, March 29 at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, with calling one hour prior to the service.