Phyllis committed her time and talents to teaching hundreds of sixth-grade students exclusively during her 42-year teaching career. She also traveled to Europe and most of the United States. During her trips she would take photos and turn them into slides so she could share her travels with her students. She once stated "I found it more rewarding in sharing my experiences, because of the knowledge I had gained teaching about the countries I had visited."

The Pertzsch family has established a memoriam for Phyllis so that students going onto further their studies after high school may also realize their goals and dreams. The scholarship is set up for students who have shown significant improvement throughout their high school career.