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Phyllis Woodstock was born in Buckingham, Quebec in 1938 and was raised in the small community of Poltimore. At 15, she married her childhood sweetheart, Lionel; had her first child, Lyoness, at 16, and her second, Judy, at 19. For the next 20 years, Phyllis was a homemaker and mom to two active children who inherited their mother’s love of country music. Lyoness and Judy began to entertain locally in their early teens, and Phyllis looked after these small "bookings".
In 1979, singer Connie Baker asked Phyllis to book her as a single performer, and Phyllis decided, with Lionel’s blessing, to form Phil’s Entertainment Agency. It was a big step, but Phyllis got her A.F. of M. booking license, which she still holds after 22 years, and went for it. Needless to say, she was very successful. Along with booking Lyoness and Judy on tours in the 70’s and 80’s, she also booked Ottawa acts such as Orval Prophet, Terry Carisse, Ralph Carlson, Ron McMunn, Neville Wells, John Henry and Howard Hayes and, on occasion, Nashville stars Dottie West, John Conlee, Charlie Walker and Dave Dudley.
Upon the death of her friend, Orval, Phyllis instituted the Orval Prophet Heart Fund Jamboree which, over 17 years, has raised more than $22,000 for the Ontario Heart & Stroke Foundation. This is a cause near and dear to Phyllis’ heart, especially after losing her beloved husband to heart disease. Phyllis is very active in other charity work and holds awards from the Boy Scouts Association, the Canadian Police Association, the Royal Canadian Legion, and the Indy Bike Challenge for the Ottawa Children’s Treatment Centre. She is also very active in MADD, having lost her cherished grandson, Cory Woodstock, to an alcohol-related accident.
The Ottawa Valley Country Music Hall of Fame is proud to welcome Phyllis Woodstock as its 2001 Builder Inductee.
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