Obituary of Rachel Brown Phillips

Rachel Brown Phillips, 94, of Sylva, died Saturday, Feb. 8, at Mission Hospitals, St. Joseph's campus, Asheville, after a period of declining health. A native of Jackson County, she was born Feb. 17, 1919. She was the daughter of the late Everette and Attie Bridges Brown, founders of the Ruralite newspaper, now the Sylva Herald and Ruralite. She was a 1937 graduate of Sylva High School, where she played basketball. She organized yearly reunions of the Class of 1937 and spearheaded the Sylva High all-class reunion in 2007. As a teenager, she participated in many beauty pageants. She represented Sylva in the 1935 Miss North Carolina Pageant in Winston-Salem. She married Charles Emerson Phillips on Dec. 30, 1937. They left Jackson County in 1942 and lived in various places in the Southeast until returning to Sylva in 1957 prior to the birth of their only child. She was a homemaker and a former sales representative for World Book Encyclopedias. She was known as a local historian. Sylva Mayor Brenda Oliver declared her 90th birthday as Rachel Phillips Day in Sylva in 2009. She was an avid sports fan, especially of the Smoky Mountain Mustangs and University of North Carolina Tar Heels. She was a member of the Jackson County Genealogical Society and the board of directors of the Jackson County Athletic Hall of Fame. She had received awards honoring her work with both groups. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Emerson Phillips, in 1976; one brother, Malcolm Brown; two sisters, Margaret Williams and Annie Nell Rector; and an infant brother, Fred Brown. She is survived by one son, Carey Phillips of Sylva; one sister, Madge Truckner of New Bern; six nephews and eight nieces; and several great-nephews and great-nieces. Services will be held at 2 p.m. Monday, Feb. 10, in the chapel of Appalachian Funeral Services with the Revs. Jeff Mathis and Eddie Deitz officiating. Burial will be in Fairview Memorial Gardens. Pallbearers will be Si Simmons, Cameron Taylor, Chuck Vance, Arnold Nicholson, Henry Bryson and Dickie Woodard. The family will receive friends from 6-8 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 9, at Appalachian Funeral Services.