James A. "Jim" Phillips

James A. Phillips, 87, a former Shawnee Mission high school teacher, died August 29, 2019 at Flowery Branch, Georgia, where he lived. He was predeceased by him mother Estelle Kalomas Phillips in 1995, his father Al in 1998 and his wife Suzanne in 2015. Services will be held Thursday, September 29 at Knox Presbyterian Church, Overland Park, Ks. Cremation. The family requests no flowers and suggests contributions to the Deacons Fund at Knox Presbyterian. Jim was born in Bloomington, Illinois, August 9, 1932, and lived throughout the Midwest until he moved to Overland Park in 1960. He was an Army veteran. He received his teaching degree in 1953 and his Master's Degree in 1956 from Kansas University. He was a lifetime member of the National Education Association. Jim taught English in Shawnee Mission high schools from 1956 to 1994 and in the Evening Division of Rockhurst College from 1960 to 1986. He was a book reviewer for The Kansas City Star, Library Journal, Best Sellers, and various quarterlies. The variety of jobs he had both while teaching and while growing up taught him much about living and about people. One of his pleasures in life was helping his friends solve their computer problems. His interest in photography began with a Polaroid camera in 1954 and progressed through the Nikon single lens reflex era and then into the digital age. Suzanne once remarked that he belonged to the most-photographed poker group in the world. During the last forty years of his life, Jim was Secretary of the Aristotelean and Euclidean Probability and Conceptualization Seminar. Although his singing voice was such that he was the only person in his fraternity permanently excused from song practice, in later years he often sang around the house, even though Suzanne frequently, and justifiably, questioned the accuracy of his lyrics. Son David nurtured his interest in sports and son Carl kindled his interest in woodworking and manual skills. Survivors include his two sons: David E. Phillips and wife Donna of Wichita, Ks, and Carl S. Phillips of Flowery Branch, GA; a brother, Ronald L. Phillips and wife Linda of Ojai, CA; five grandchildren: Michael and wife Emilie, Matthew and wife Toni, Craig, Kellie, and Jonathan and wife Lauren; and 10 great grandchildren.

James A. "Jim" Phillips

August 30, 2019