Kenneth Dewayne Phillips

Our father, Kenneth Dewayne Phillips, died on September 26, 2023, in Dallas, Texas where he resided for the past sixteen years. Dad was the only child, born to William and Edna Phillips in February of 1944 in Lansing, Michigan. Dad loved playing most sports, including his favorite, basketball, at both Walter French Middle School and in high school at Lansing Eastern High School where he met our Mom. They lived in married housing on the campus of Michigan State University, while Mom finished her college degree and Dad pursued his career. During this time, the Vietnam war was prominent. Dad enlisted in the Air Force. After basic training he was sent to Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage Alaska where he stayed for his entire enlistment. Mom and Dad always shared the best stories from their time in Alaska; salmon fishing being one of their most favorites. Dad graduated from the University of Alaska. Tanya and Todd were both born in Anchorage.

In 1970, Dad and Mom moved the family back to Michigan. Dad’s first job was with the largest feed company in the country. He always wanted to get into medical sales. Dad knew that if he could get hired by Johnson & Johnson that he could write his ticket for anything in the medical field. He did and was hired by Ethicon the largest suture company in the world. In 1973, Dad and Mom had their third child, Heidi. In 1976, Dad was offered to open a territory for Depuy in Southern CA, where we would spend the next twenty years raising the three of us.

Tanya, Todd and Heidi all fondly remember his time on and off the field as “coach”. From Pony League to Bobby Sox Allstars to the Dana Hills Soccer field, Dad rarely missed a game. He was and continued to be our biggest fan for his entire life. He also prided himself on his fishing skills and tried, unsuccessfully, to remain patient while teaching the three of us the art of fishing on the lakes and streams in Mammoth, CA.

Dad moved to several places after California including Michigan, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, before settling in Texas where he could be near Todd and his extended family. Dad was blessed with amazing friends that he met along the way, at his visits to a bagel shop, a flea market, or his most favorite, sipping on a cup of McDonald’s coffee.

He was survived by his three children, who were his world: Tanya Phillips, Kenneth Todd Phillips and his wife, Stephanie, Heidi Carvalho and her husband Matt and his six grandchildren, Maddie, Max and Duncan Carvalho, Ava and Ben Phillips and Ruby Phillips.

We are grateful to the people who came alongside dad on his life adventures, who helped him with his collections and who loved him even when he got in his own way. Thank you to the Staubach family for making him one of your own for the past sixteen years. He loved his time with the kids and out on the ranch.

In lieu of flowers, we ask that you take a minute for your own personal well-being. Go outside and connect with nature, take a nap, start a gratitude journal, B-R-E-A-T-H-E, meditate, exercise and just be mindful of this moment.