Phillips, Eunice Ilene Marshall
Eunice Ilene Marshall Phillips, 83, of Salem, slipped peacefully into the arms of Jesus on Wednesday, August 29, 2007 with her loving family by her side. She will be remembered as a woman who truly loved the Lord and honored Him with every step she took and every word she spoke each day of her life.
She will also be remembered as a devoted wife to Delbert, a full-time mom to her daughters, the sweetest “Granny” and mother-in-law, a crafter of beautiful things, a card-sending aunt, a happy person with a smile for everyone she met and famous for her homemade chicken and dumplings and coleslaw.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 51 years, Delbert Phillips; her parents, Oscar and Essie Marshall of Indian Valley; her daughters, Linda Phillips and Loretta Grant and her brothers, Howard, James, and Rollie Marshall.
Left to cherish her memory are her daughters, Barbara Reynolds and husband, Kenny, and Juanita Shreve, her “daughter by choice,” and Norma Dempsey and husband, Richard; son-in-law, Bill Grant; grandchildren, Amy Trolier and husband, Joe, Eric Shreve and wife, Beaux-Neige, Emily Smith and husband, David, and Kelly Bayrer and husband, Tom; great-granddaughter, Kenzie Smith; sisters, Leora Phillips and husband, Orland, and Oleda Kenley and husband, Robert; brother, Marvin Marshall and wife, Virginia; sisters-in-law, Mary Marshall and Sylvia Marshall; brother-in-law, Holly Phillips; many dear nieces and nephews and her many wonderful friends at Ridgecrest.
The family will receive friends on Friday, August 31, 2007 from 2 to 8 p.m. at the funeral home. A funeral service will be held on Saturday, September 1, 2007 at 10 a.m. in the John M. Oakey & Son Chapel in Salem. Interment will follow at Sherwood Memorial Park in Salem. Together, her nephew, the Rev. Leo Phillips, of River Hill Christian Church in Galax and Pastor Jerry Otey, of Gospel Light Baptist Church in Christiansburg, will officiate.
Donations may be made in her memory to Gospel Light Baptist Church, 1556 Gallimore Street, Christiansburg, Virginia, 24073 or to River Hill Christian Church, in care of Frank Carter, River Hill Road in Galax, Virginia 24333. Online condolences may be made at www.johnmoakey.com.
The family would like to thank Dr. Allan Sklar, New River Nephrology of Christiansburg, and Linda Whitworth, Fresenius Dialysis Center of Blacksburg, for providing excellent care which helped to add quantity and quality to her life. She fought the good fight and will be sadly missed by all who knew and loved her. The Phillips family is being served by John M. Oakey & Son Funeral Home in Salem, 389-5441.