Remembering Ilene (1949-2024)

A Faithful Heart, A Gentle Hands, A Life of Love in Service

Phyllis Ilene Foote

Phyllis Ilene Foote, age 75, finished her earthly life and entered into the presence of her Lord and Savior on September 1, 2024. Always going by her middle name, Ilene was born in Spirit Lake, Iowa on January 25, 1949, the fifth child and first daughter of Ronald and June (Bloyer) Foote. She was a true middle child, as she became the fifth of nine children.

Ilene graduated from Trinity College in Deerfield, Illinois in 1971. Trinity named her Alumna of the Year in 1998. She later served as Director of Alumni for Trinity International University..

Ilene was preceded in death by her parents and her youngest brother, Jon.

She was an expert at networking. Everywhere she worked and participated in church, she brought people together to enhance the ministries and success of others. She led in worship planning, drama, and other ministries.

Everywhere she lived, she blessed her neighbors. Though she had no natural children of her own, she always saw children as real people and made a difference in many lives as “Aunt I.”

Ilene taught English at LeTourneau University in Tyler, Texas and Lincoln Christian School in Lincoln, Nebraska. She was a creative writer, as well as a coach for other writers. She maintained her participation in a writing club, Ironworks, even when she lived overseas. She was also an accomplished public speaker and motivated others to respond to God’s call in their own lives.

Her creativity affected every area of life. As an entrepreneur, she turned her hobbies and interests into fund-raising projects that included photography, cooking and baking, decorating and entertaining. She used her musical and artistic talents with great effect.

She is survived by her brothers and sisters: Danny (wife Gretchen), Jerry, Ron (wife Dorothy), Alvin (wife Barbara), Susan (husband Lee) Eclov, William (wife Sue), Betty (husband Paul) Ries, and Lori; and by her adopted son, Francis (wife Zehab, and children Zahra, Zachary, and Zoe).

Her legacy lives on in people Ilene influenced during her lifetime.

Ilene trusted in Jesus as her Savior as a child and devoted her life to him. Her private devotional life was close and consistent. She sensed God’s call to be a missionary to Africa in childhood. She was faithful to that calling. She never married, though she had proposals of marriage, because saying yes would have turned her from being a missionary. She fulfilled her calling by serving as a literacy worker under the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) in the People’s Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) from 1988 to 1996.

Forced to leave Congo during civil war, she continued to work for SIL and Jungle Aviation and Radio Services (JAARS) in various capacities. Her missionary work was done in other places and in other ways both before and after her time in Africa.