(1)
M.O. PHILLIPS COATS
Mr. Murry Ormond (M.O.) Phillips, 87, of 135 West Stewart St., died Tuesday, May 16, 2000, at Betsy Johnson Hospital, Dunn.
The funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, May 19, 2000, at Coats Baptist Church. Officiating will be Dr. Mark White, the Rev. A. Howard Beard and the Rev. John Stephenson, also speaking will be Mr. Charles Keels and Mr. Carsie Denning Sr. Burial will follow in Coats City Cemetery, with military honors. Mr. Phillips was born April 28, 1913, in Leake County, Miss., to the late Robert and Ruby Stribling Phillips. Mr. Phillips was preceded in death by his wife, Kathryn Smith Phillips. He was a member of Coats Baptist Church, Coats Lions Club, Coats Area Chamber of Commerce and was a Mason. Mr. Phillips served in the U.S. Army, during World War II, was an educator and a member of the Gideon's Bible Association.
Surviving include daughter and son-in-law, Carolyn S. and Ben Spears of Greensboro; son and daughter-in-law, Murry T. and Dora Phillips of Dunn; sister, Evelyn Collier of Freeny, Miss.; grandchildren and spouses, Michael and Luci Spivey, Christopher and Becky Spivey, Meredith and David Hardy, Deanna Callahan, and Carla Phillips; and great-granddaughter, Hannah Spivey.
The family will receive friends from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, May 18, 2000, at Rose & Graham Funeral Home, Coats.
Flowers are welcomed, however memorials may be made to Coats Baptist Church, P.O. Box 297, Coats, N.C. 27521.
Source: News and Record, Greensboro, North Carolina, Obituaries, Wednesday, May 17, 2000
(2)
Murry O. Phillips Papers.
Biographical/Historical Note:
Murry Ormand Phillips was born on April 28, 1913, in Leake County, Mississippi. After graduating from Mississippi State University, he took a teaching position at Coats High School, in Coats, a small town in central North Carolina's, Harnett County. Shortly after arriving in Coats, he was introduced to Kathryn Stewart Smith. They were married a year later. Phillips lived in Coats until his death on May 16, 2000.
A pioneer in the use of color slide film, Phillips was among the first to work in the medium, starting in 1938. Throughout his career he was a technical innovator. Early on, Phillips was the recipient of corporate grants that allowed him to perfect techniques related to the presentation of classroom materials using ditto machines, thermofaxes, and 35 mm slides. Phillips' career as an educator was put on hold during World War II. He saw action in North Africa and Italy, served under Generals George Patton and Mark Clark, and received numerous commendations for bravery. Phillips retired from active service after the war but continued to serve in the Army Reserves, and retired with the rank of Major.
In the twenty-eight years that M. O. Phillips spent teaching vocational agriculture in Harnett County, he perfected the use of classroom instructional aids using a variety of media. His specialty was the use of slides and overhead projectors. He evolved his presentation skills to include film strips and video production. In 1958 Phillips received a Master's degree in Agricultural Education from North Carolina State University. After teaching vocational agriculture in Harnett County, Phillips served as the Chief Curriculum Specialist and Supervisor for curriculum development in vocational education for the North Carolina Department of Public Education. He worked in that capacity for ten years.
Phillips was an active leader in the Future Farmers of America (FFA) and served as the director of the FFA summer youth camp in White Lake, North Carolina, for ten years. He was recognized numerous times by the FFA for his many contributions to the organization. He received additional recognition from the National Vocational Agricultural Teacher's Association, Inc. who awarded Phillips Honorary American Farmer degrees in 1937, 1948, and 1958. The Coats, North Carolina Chamber of Commerce named M. O. Phillips "Coats, Man of the Year" in 1983. Phillips received the "Governor's Volunteer Award" from Governor James Hunt in 1994.
In addition to civic and military service, Phillips served as a deacon at the Coats Baptist Church and taught Sunday School there for forty-five years. He applied his skill in classroom media development and created slide presentations related to scripture. At the time of his death he was working on a book of sermons for children.
Scope/Content:
The Murry O. Phillips Papers contain photographic slides, overhead transparencies, films strips, papers, scrapbooks, and ephemera related to Phillips lengthy career in agriculture and agricultural education in the state of North Carolina. Additionally there is material documenting M. O. Phillips's involvement with the development of the town of Coats, North Carolina, and material documenting Phillips's participation with the Future Farmers of America. The collection also includes an extensive slide collection created by Phillips that highlights the beauty of rural North Carolina, as well as personal slides, photographs, and papers.
Source of Acquisition:
Donated by Ms. Carolyn Phillips Spears, June 2000
Source: Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, N.C
NOTE: Transcribed as published.
Source: ancestry.com
Hawkins Phillips Family Bible, 1964 was in possession of Murry Ormond Phillips, of Coats, N.C.
Source: DAR Application for Membership - Mrs. Alma Vara Durham Latham, National #503216.
