Phyllis Hammer Duin, the beloved wife of the late Rear Admiral Robert A. Duin,

died peacefully on December 29 in Redmond, Wash., at the age of 97.

Phyllis was born in Germantown, Pa., on May 15, 1928, the fifth of six daughters of Birchall and Olive Hammer, and named after her great-grandfather, Philip, who fought in the Civil War. She grew up in nearby Elkins Park, an accomplished pianist and field-hockey star, graduating from Cheltenham High School in 1945. She was one of the more vivacious sophomores at Connecticut College for Women in New London, Ct. when she met Robert, a cadet at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, on a blind date in 1946.

After graduating with a BS in chemistry in 1949 and working briefly for Valley Forge Army Hospital, Phyllis married Robert in 1950. She was at his side during the tumultuous early postings of Robert’s 31-year career in the Coast Guard, fashioning homes in Newfoundland, Boston, Mobile, Honolulu, and Baltimore while adding three children to the family.

During one of Robert’s assignments at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Phyllis earned an MS in biology from Connecticut College in 1966, specializing in cytogenetics. She later taught for a year at Wroxeter School in Arnold, Md.

Her husband’s orders to Seattle in 1971 opened up a new life for Phyllis, who learned to ski at the age of 43. They so loved their home overlooking Lake Sammamish in Bellevue that they held on to the house when Robert was transferred back to Maryland, then promoted to Rear Admiral in 1975. When he was assigned command of the 17th Coast Guard District in Alaska, Phyllis accompanied him to Juneau. Her five years as an admiral’s wife, flush with receptions, crab fests and dog-sled adventures, were a fulltime job.

In 1980, RADM Duin retired from the Coast Guard, and the couple returned to their home in Bellevue. For the next five years, Phyllis worked as a research lab assistant at the University of Washington. She also volunteered at Overlake Hospital and Evergreen Hospice in Kirkland, and was active with the altar guild at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle. She loved needlework and oversaw the creation and installation of several dozen needlepoint kneelers in the cathedral’s Thomsen Chapel.

Phyllis and Robert spent their retirement years travelling widely throughout Europe and the Southeast Asia. In 2009, they sold their home in Bellevue and relocated to Emerald Heights in Redmond. Phyllis long welcomed new arrivals to that retirement community by interviewing them and writing 500-word bios for the Emerald Heights newsletter. After Robert passed away in 2016, she remained the engaging family matriarch, the last of the six Hammer daughters. She is survived by two sons and their spouses, Robert (Jan) and Steve (Nancy), her daughter Julia, her former daughter-in-law Susan, six grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.

The family requests donations be sent to St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle.