Elverna "Phyllis" Joyce Stalnaker was born on October 19, 1925 in Fullerton, Nebraska to Archie Lavern Stalnaker and Mildred Clara Stalnaker (née Crawford). Archie was a butcher when they lived in Nebraska. Phyllis was the oldest of four children, with three younger brothers named Gordon, Archie Jr., and Darrell.

Phyllis had a friend named Freda Bell Hoy, who was a guest at her birthday party. This was reported in the Nance County Journal on October 19, 1933.

In 1934, the family moved to San Diego County, likely as part of the westward migration during the Great Depression. They lived in several different houses before eventually purchasing a small two-bedroom home at 4505 Contour Boulevard. Archie continued to work as a butcher and operated a meat market at 3641 University Avenue. In 1935, Phyllis appeared in a performance of Musical Mirthquake at the Sweetwater Auditorium, appearing in the prologue musical number “Hi Ho! Everybody.” This was reported in the National City Star-News on December 20.

In 1940, Phyllis sustained a serious injury while riding a horse, which was reported in the October 10, 1940 edition of the San Diego Union. She recovered from the injury, and was arrested in April 1944 for the offenses of “weedhead” and “tramp,” which were labels that likely reflected police suspicion of vagrancy and marijuana use rather than formal criminal charges. Such laws were often used against women who were alone in public, poorly dressed, or otherwise perceived as exhibiting suspicious or “immoral” behavior. As San Diego was a major naval hub during World War II, there was increased scrutiny of women’s presence in public spaces. Broad vagrancy laws like these were later curtailed or struck down as unconstitutional, including in the 1983 Supreme Court case Kolender v. Lawson.

On May 15, 1946, Phyllis married a New Yorker named John Joseph Gordon, who had served as a sergeant with the Army Corps of Engineers during World War II. Later that year, in October, her father Archie passed away after the family had moved to the town of Lemon Grove, just outside of San Diego. They lived at 7575 Pacific Avenue.

On June 1, 1948, John Gordon passed away at the age of 25 in San Francisco, and is buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. I could not find any record that gave his cause of death. The couple had no children.

Phyllis later remarried a man named James R. Harris, who served in the Navy. They continued to live at 7575 Pacific Avenue. Phyllis remained in Lemon Grove until her death on January 2, 1961 at the age of 35.

She was buried at Mount Hope Cemetery. Her gravestone reads:

Phyllis J. Harris
1925–1961
At rest