James Roy Phillips

James Roy “Jim” Phillips, age 77, of Swanton, passed away Tuesday, October 25, 2022, with his loving wife of 57 years by his side in Flower Hospital, Sylvania. He was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in February 2021 and fought a courageous battle with one purpose, to spend one more day with his wife. Born in February 1945 in Alma, MI to the late Lawrence and Elizabeth (Bradshaw) Phillips, he was raised in Oak Ridge, TN and attended TN Tech in Cookeville, TN. He was a Boy Scout and enjoyed outdoor adventures such as camping and hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains and bore a scar on his cheek from such adventures. He met the love of his life at Long Lake, MI, and ultimately married Sondra L. Crum on September 4, 1965, and moved to Toledo. Jim was known for his acute sense of logic, deductive reasoning, and humor. He worked his way up as a design engineer for Libbey Glass Co. for 25 years when he was let go due to the economy. He took this opportunity to follow his passion and create his own business remodeling and designing home improvements from which he retired. Jim was known to be ‘the Go-To Guy’ that could fix or build anything and earned the name ‘Woodchuck’ because of the piles of woodchips and sawdust he created. Based on the quality of his work and overall customer satisfaction, he developed a reputation for his craft and his business thrived. He applied these skills as well to restoring their 100-year-old farmhouse that was his pride and joy. He loved all kinds of puzzles, playing chess, collecting stamps, genealogy, woodworking, restoring furniture, gardening, dancing, and watching the birds at the various bird feeders and baths. All these things brought Jim joy, but nothing compared to his love of family dinners and spending time with his grandchildren. He always said, “What happens at Papa’s, stays at Papa’s”.

Jim is survived by his loving wife, Sondra; children, Deborah (Marty) McCloskey of Temperance, MI, Robert Phillips of Los Angeles, CA, Mark (Carol) Phillips of Mansfield, Loren Phillips and Annette Wittscheck of Swanton; seven grandchildren, Alan, Philip and Ian McCloskey, Wendy Ball, Andi Hawn, Michelle Erich, Victor Phillips, Bentley Hicks-Phillips; ten great-grandchildren; and siblings, Jean (Joe) Hattabaugh and John (Tammy) Phillips.

Family and friends are invited to visit on Wednesday, November 2, 2022, from 11:00 a.m. until the time of funeral services at 1:00 p.m. in the Walker Funeral Home, 5155 Sylvania Ave. (west of Corey Rd.). Burial will follow at Amboy Twp. Cemetery.

Contributions in Jim’s name are suggested to the American Cancer Society or the Alzheimer’s Association.