COLUMBIA A graveside service for Hisako “Ruth” Tanaka Phillips, 86, will be held at 11:00 a.m. Friday, April 10, 2015, in Fort Jackson National Cemetery. Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel, is assisting the family. Mrs. Phillips died Saturday, April 4, 2015. Born in Agawa-mura, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, she was a daughter of the late Hideo Tanaka and Satsuki Hashimoto Tanaka. She met her husband after World War II in Tokyo, and after his retirement from the Army in 1966 they settled in Columbia. She retired in the mid-1970s as manager of the women’s department at K-Mart on Two Notch Road. A talented gardener, she loved her family and was an avid Braves fan. Surviving are her daughters, Linda Phillips of Westminster, Calif., Betty Phillips of Columbia; three grandchildren, three great-grandchildren; four brothers and one sister. She was predeceased by her husband of 61 years, SFC Carroll Phillips, U.S. Army (Ret.); a son, James Phillips; and a sister. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Palmetto Health Foundation, PO Box 602575, Charlotte, NC 28260.
