She departed this life one day after her 76th birthday, while in the care and comfort of Community Hospice of Jacksonville, Florida.
She confessed her life to Christ at an early age and was active at St. Mark’s AME Church in Osceola, Arkansas. Barbara attended Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee and received her Bachelors of Art in Education. It was at Lane College where she met the love of her life, Benjamin Phillips Sr. They were married for 51 years before Benjamin Sr. passed away in May of 2017.
After graduating from college, she began a teaching career in Osceola, Arkansas. She retired early after losing her sight to retinitis pigmentosa, a rare genetic disease. Barbara touched the lives of hundreds of students and many people in the church and community. She will be remembered as a kind and generous spirit who dearly loved her God, her family, her friends, and her church.
Barbara leaves behind a legacy of love and devotion to cherish her memory: two sons, Benjamin Jr. (Sharon) and Elgin (Sherry) of Fairfield Township, Ohio; five grandchildren, Erica Phillips, of Atlanta, Georgia, and Benjamin III, Isaiah, Elgin Jr., and Michael Phillips, all of Fairfield Township, Ohio; and one great-grandchild, Piper Phillips, of Atlanta, Georgia.
