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Obituary for Charles Eugene Phillips
Charles Eugene (Gene) Phillips, 77, died on November 7, 2019. Visitation is on Sunday, November 10, 2019 from 1:30 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. at First Baptist Church Madison, with the memorial service following the visitation (no burial).
Gene was born November 20, 1941 in the Crooked Creek Community of New Hebron, MS in his grandparents’ home. He lived most of his life in Jackson, where he attended Hardy Jr. High, and then Provine High School. At Provine, Gene was elected Student Body President and “Mr. Provine” in 1959. He ran track while at Provine and was proud of his teammates’ accomplishments in all the relay races and in the quarter mile, and mile. Gene attended Millsaps College, where he was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, and was elected Treasurer. He worked part-time at Owen’s Ltd. for one year. After that, he went to work for Person’s Dad & Lad store in Westland Plaza, got married in 1962, transferred to Mississippi College his senior year, so he could take morning classes and work in the evening, and graduated in 1963 with a degree in English. He went to McRae’s in 1965 and worked there as a salesman at Westland Plaza; Buyer-Boyswear; Store Manager in Meridian, 1972-1975; Divisional Merchandise Manager-Men’s & Boys; Regional Vice President over Jackson and several other stores, and finally as the Vice President, General Merchandise Manager over Men’s, Boys and Home Furnishings. Gene left McRae’s in 1990 after 25 years and went into real estate with CENTURY 21, was President of the Jackson Association of Realtors in 2002, and retired in 2010 from CENTURY 21 Maselle and Associates.
Gene enjoyed playing tennis, but enjoyed the camaraderie more, and he loved the beach, where he spent long hours fishing- and catching nothing-but enjoyed every minute of it.
Gene is preceded in death by his father, Charlie Hansford Phillips and his mother, Charlene Cliburn Phillips.
Gene is survived by his wife of 56 years, Barbara (Henderson) Phillips, daughter Debbie Zuluaga (Felipe), their children, Anabelle and Max; daughter Pam Galatas (Mike), and their children, Sawyer and Georgia, all of Madison, MS. Gene’s brother, Benny (Pat), lives in Albuquerque, NM. Gene’s sister, Brenda MacGibbon (Richard) lives in Lake Havasu, AZ.
Gene will miss all his family and friends, but especially his and Barbara’s lady friends, Betty Foster and Anne Michael (not necessarily in that order) with whom they spent many a fun evening dining out or playing cards. He will also miss their very special friend Cat Corpening, who lost her husband, Alex, in August, 2019, and the time spent at their beach house in North Carolina. Willie T. Hunter was a lifelong friend, as was James Brown. Two special friends are Bob Walters and Bob Dowd. Gene was a better man for having known each of these guys. Memorials may be given to First Baptist Church Madison, or to your favorite charity, in Gene’s name.
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