Phyllys "Fifi" Fleming, 89, of Chestnut Hill, passed away peacefully on March 12, 2018 surrounded by her family at The Hill at Whitemarsh where she was a resident. Born in Oyster Bay, Long Island and raised in Manhattan, she attended the Madeira School and Vassar College before meeting and marrying her late husband, Thomas T. Fleming, and moving to the Philadelphia area in 1951. Fifi was a longtime community leader and volunteer having served on the boards of many local nonprofit institutions including the Chestnut Hill Community Association, Chestnut Hill Hospital, and Chestnut Hill Academy (now Springside Chestnut Hill). Because art was one of her lifelong passions, she was also active for many years with the Women's Committee of the Philadelphia Museum of Art where she was instrumental in starting the Philadelphia Craft Show in the late 1970s, now in its 42nd year and one of the premier craft shows in the nation. Her support for the arts and art education extended to other local arts organizations including the Fleisher Art Memorial where she served on the Board from 1991 to 2003, the American Poetry Center and The Village of Arts and Humanities, founded in 1986 to lift up low income communities through art. An avid painter, she eventually went back to college and received her BFA degree from the University of the Arts in 1984 where she was proudly the oldest member of her graduating class. In addition to her love of art, Fifi loved the outdoors where she counted skiing and golf among her passions. She married her love of art and the outdoors first in her landscape paintings and later in her photography where she skillfully captured the beauty of the Philadelphia seasons in the landscapes surrounding her home. Above all though, it was her devotion to her family that was most important to her. She was the loving wife of Tom for 58 years until his passing in 2008 and loved the frequent family reunions which brought her children, grandchildren and extended family together for birthdays, holidays and vacations. Her combination of grace, strength, humor and style made her a role model for friends and family alike.

She is survived by her four sons, Chris, John, Peter and Toby and nine grandchildren: Courtney, Eliot, Helena, Amanda, Julia, Emily, Sarah, Stuart and William.

A memorial service will be held at noon on Saturday, April 14th at the Chestnut Hill Friends Meetinghouse on Mermaid Lane followed by a celebration of her life at the Philadelphia Cricket Club, 415 West Willow Grove Avenue in Chestnut Hill.

Contributions in her memory can be made to the Fleisher Art Memorial, 719 Catherine Street, Philadelphia, PA. 19147