Volunteers honor fallen comrade

December 23, 2005

DAWN DE BUSK\Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU - An Earth flag flies in the parking lot of Valley Community for Recycling Solutions - a reminder of the life and community-mindedness of 41-year-old Teslin Phillips, who died Nov. 19, about 17 months after she was diagnosed with cancer.

The Teslin Phillips Memorial Educational Center was unveiled Wednesday as VCRS celebrated its third year in several semi-permanent structures near Palmer-Wasilla Highway and 49th State Street.

More than 50 people showed up dressed in outdoor attire that day to visit one another in the light of a roaring winter solstice bonfire and admire the recently organized education facility named after Phillips.

&#8220Teslin's spirit and legacy is alive here. She helped to create who we are and how we do business,” director Mollie Boyer said.

Seven years ago, when VCRS began, Phillips was pregnant with her son, Joshua.

As her son grew, so did the recycling program. Phillips' position evolved from gathering reliable volunteers to changing people's perception of recycling versus tossing all trash in the landfill.

&#8220She was moving toward more community outreach. Teslin loved doing field trips. She was good at it,” Boyer said.

In the summer of 2004, after several days of feeling achy, Phillips thought she had pulled a muscle in her leg, Boyer said.

At that time, she found out she had stage-four lung cancer that had spread to her bones. Doctors told Phillips her bones had become too thin, and that she should get off her feet.

In between several sessions of aggressive chemotherapy, Phillips spent a gung-ho year doing a job in which she believed.

&#8220She was amazing. She was very active for a year. Teslin was a strong, determined woman. She pushed for a year, but she realized she was dying. And when she knew it was inevitable, she threw a party for her friends,” Boyer said.

That event took place in October at the Agate Inn.

In September 2004, community members rallied around Phillips. The DeeDee Jonrowe Dog Dash was held to raise money to help with Phillips' medical bills.

Phillips also took a raft trip down the Colorado River in September with her husband and friends, something she had long wanted to do. However, four days into the excursion, her legs swelled and, concerned about blood clots, she was evacuated to a nearby hospital.

Her outdoor adventure cut short, Phillips focused on spending some time with her parents, whom her son had been visiting, at their home in New Mexico, Boyer said.

The temporary education center was a much-needed free gift, a 10-by-58 mobile home with a pitched metal roof to help unload snow. It houses educational materials like five-day curriculum kits for fourth- to eighth-graders, posters, books, recyling board games, and informative videos - including one on hypothermia - so volunteers know what to watch for when working outside on cold days, Boyer said.

The mobile home has

a kitchen, and an add-on

that will be used as a break room for busy and hungry volunteers.

The education center will continue to be named after Phillips when a new VCRS building is constructed on property near the Mat-Su Animal Care and Regulation Shelter.

&#8220We are designing the education center in a glass room on the second floor,” she said.

Boyer said it won't just be the upcoming holidays that trigger feelings of sorrow from missing her friend and co-worker.

&#8220For the first year, anything we did together - my birthday, her birthday, any anniversary - will be sad because it's the first year without her,” Boyer said.

Boyer maintains her belief that life doesn't end with death, that a person's efforts continue even when their time on earth has ended.

&#8220I loved Teslin. She was a great person,” volunteer Kathleen Asay said as her eyes teared up. Taking a deep breath and forcing a smile, she turned away to help someone unload aluminum cans from their vehicle.

Contact Dawn De Busk at

352-2252, or dawn.debusk@ frontiersman.com.