Christopher David William Philley

Chris was born on August 21st, 1985 in Toronto, Canada to Bonny Macfarlane and Douglas Philley. At the age of 11, Chris moved from Canada to the United States where he lived in Amarillo until graduating from Amarillo High and moving to Austin for college. Chris attended the University of Texas at Austin for undergraduate studies where he met his college sweetheart, Taylor. Chris graduated UT Austin in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree and went on to graduate from Baylor University with a law degree a semester early, in 2010. Chris moved back to Austin after law school and began working in criminal and civil law. In December of that same year, Chris proposed to Taylor at a family cookout in his mother’s backyard, and the two were married on November 3rd, 2012 overlooking Lake Travis in Lakeway, Texas.

Throughout his life, Chris has been known for his humor, intelligence, kindness, and passion for those he loved. He played hockey at UT Austin on the club hockey team and continued to play in a men’s recreational league in Austin for almost two decades after that. He loved to support the Texas Stars hockey team, the Dallas Cowboys football team, and of course, his Texas Longhorns. Chris also had a passion for music and stand-up comedy. He would frequent concerts and open-mic nights with Taylor and their friends. Chris even went on to do the open-mic nights himself and entered multiple times in Cap City Comedy’s Funniest Person in Austin competitions.

In 2014, Chris embarked on an adventure that would be his most gratifying and rewarding yet, fatherhood. Chris and Taylor welcomed a baby boy in September of that year, and continued welcoming children for almost every year thereafter until 2019. They have two boys, and two girls: Lennox, Evie, Rhett, and Rowan. Chris was an incredible father. He taught his children to skate, ride bikes, snow ski, swim, play chess and instilled in them a love for reading. Chris coached their baseball, basketball, and soccer teams. He hugged them often, kissed them daily, attended every school function, took them on hikes, and voluntarily, on many different occasions, took the children on solo father-daughter and father-son trips completely inspired and planned by him. Chris truly had a natural ability to show grace, love, and compassion to others, and those traits will live on through his four children.

As a dedicated and talented attorney, Chris eventually left criminal and civil law and pursued a career in family law. After working at some bigger firms for years, he opened a solo practice with a great group of paralegals and successfully owned and operated his own firm for over 5 years before stepping away to focus on his health. Chris was known for taking on complex cases that were often the most contested. Even though he loved the challenge of a trial and had a natural ability in the court room, he always strived to get his clients the very best arrangement for themselves and their children, even if that was settling out of court and keeping costs low. Chris was so giving and generous that he worked tens of thousands of dollars per year unfunded for clients that needed help and were unable to pay. Chris’s giving heart was apparent in every aspect of his life.

In April of 2025, Chris had a seizure that led to the discovery of glioblastoma, a cancerous brain tumor. After almost sixteen months, Chris passed in the hospital while holding hands with Taylor and surrounded by his family. While Chris is now with the Lord and watching over us all, he is survived by his four children, Lennox, Evie, Rhett, and Rowan Philley, his wife, Taylor Philley, his mother, Bonny Macfarlane, his father and stepmother, Douglas Philley and Alison Shadlock, his brother and sister-in-law, Liam Philley and Tina Armstrong, his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Jerry and Jane Shults, his brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Spencer Shults and Lorna Vasquez, his niece and nephew, Rome and Bella Shults, and his sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Matt and Kelsey Holtkamp.

Chris was cremated at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Homes in Austin and will be laid to rest in the Remembrance Gardens at Riverbend Church in Austin, Texas on Friday, November 20th in a private family memorial service. His life will be celebrated by all that knew and loved him at 12:30pm on Sunday, November 22nd at the LBJ Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas. Guests can RSVP for his celebration at www.chrisphilley.com

His life was defined by loving big and laughing often, and that is how Chris Philley will be remembered. In lieu of sending flowers, the family requests that you honor Chris by planting a tree in Central Texas. Chris loved all things outdoors and had a strong desire to keep the Earth clean by preserving its land, water, and air. Please consider donating a tree to be planted through TreeFolks in Chris Philley’s name and help us honor his legacy through keeping Texas lands healthy and beautiful for years to come.