Charles Ray Phillips Jr

Charles Ray Phillips Jr., lovingly known as Chuck, was the first-born son of Ray and Joy Carrier Phillips. He entered their lives on January 21, 1958, at Memphis, TN. He departed this world on December 15, 2025, at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Olathe, KS, from a 5 year battle with lung disease and long covid. The Phillips family of eight left the farm in the flatlands and moved to Stone County from Turrell, AR, in 1970 where Chuck was enrolled in the seventh grade at Mountain View. His friendliness and humor were over the top, and he became a class favorite throughout high school. He pursued a degree in Agriculture at Arkansas State University, eventually leaving there to care for his family and enter banking. As life progressed, he worked a variety of jobs in Jackson County, Stone County, Colorado, Texas, and various parts of the USA. Not only was he a banker, he was a salesman, a craft show director, a fruit stand operator, a construction worker, small business owner, UPS driver, a natural gas line inspector; he even helped disable chemical weapons on a restricted island in the north Pacific Ocean on a military base, Johnston Atoll. These experiences filled his life with stories with which he regaled his many friends. Chuck leaves behind his loving daughter Annie Phillips and her best friend Krista Lancaster both of Kansas City, MO; a stepdaughter Mariah Gayler; his sister Prissy (Johnny Ray) Thomas; and, his brothers Buck (Jackie), Kevin (Diane), and Randy (Cynthia), along with many nieces and nephews and countless friends. Chuck was preceded in death by his parents Ray (1984) and Joy Phillips (1993), his stepdaughter Nikki Atwell (2002), his brother Kenny Phillips (2019), and his life-long friend Marsha Teague Henderson (2025). He leaves behind a legacy of love, caring for this earth, valuing education, the community, and his friends, especially Scotty Henderson. He loved to travel and to explore the world. But, his greatest love was his daughter Annie. She was his number one. His big smile and hearty laugh will be missed by all those who knew and loved him. It was Chuck’s wishes that his body be donated to science. When it was determined that his body could not be donated to science, his clinical team found a research program through the International Institute for the Advancement of Medicine to accept Chuck's lungs for research, with his other viable organs to be donated. His two kidneys were able to save two men’s lives who are 68 and 74 years old. A Celebration of Life will be held in Mountain View on Saturday, January 24th. Time and location will be later announced. In lieu of sending flowers, the family encourages everyone to plant a tree in Chuck’s honor and plan a trip somewhere you’ve always wanted to go.

Charles Ray Phillips Jr

January 21, 1958 - December 15, 2025