Mrs. Phyllis Campbell, co-founder of The Campbell Center, died in the afternoon of July 25. Phyllis had been at Dignity Health Glendale Memorial Hospital for the previous week where her heart specialist was caring for her. Her death ends a period of health challenges stretching over the past several years, the most recent included surgery in May.

The Campbell family, a long-time institution in Glendale, has played a vital role in the developmental disabilities arena, starting with the founding of The Campbell Center in 1954, which was inspired by their daughter Janice who was born with Down’s syndrome. The agency’s mission then was to provide children with developmental disabilities the opportunity for education, which was not available within the Glendale Unified School District at that time. Phyllis’ passionate advocacy for such an opportunity in the school system was instrumental in the establishment of special needs education at GUSD.

Throughout the years, the organization evolved in its mission to serve adults with developmental disabilities through work choices, residential services and community integration programs. Collectively, these programs and services help close to 150 clients on a daily basis.

“For The Campbell Center, Phyllis was a visionary and a forward-thinker. To me personally, she was a legend, someone I looked up to,” said Sandy Moreno, TCC chief executive officer. “She was always an avid supporter of growth, progress and empowerment when it came to our clients. Were it not for Phyllis, we would have never had the privilege nor the opportunity to make a positive difference for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. I will always be grateful for all she did.”

At the organization’s 60th anniversary gala in September 2014, Phyllis summed up her pride in the agency’s leadership.

“I had a vision when I founded the organization, but I never envisioned that it would grow to the scope that it has throughout the ensuing decades,” she said.

A native Glendalian, Phyllis was a USC graduate with a BS degree in business administration. It was at USC that she met her future husband, Jerry. They married in 1947 and started their family with the birth of their daughter Janice Elaine in 1950, followed by the birth of their son Jerry in 1953. It is in honor of Janice’s legacy, the inspiration for launching The Campbell Center, that the organization rebranded from GAR Services to The Campbell Center in 2014. Janice passed on in January 2016.

Plans for memorial services have not been finalized.

Phyllis is survived by her husband Jerry, a Korean War era naval officer, and son Jerry Jr. The family has specifically requested that donations be made in Phyllis’s memory to The Campbell Center, 6512 San Fernando Road, Glendale, California 91201.