Robert Gerald Phillips

Robert Gerald Phillips, age 87 years, was the only child born to Perry W. Phillips and Margaret (Ottens) Phillips on July 20, 1932, in Edison, Nebraska. As a young lad he lived in Cambridge, Nebraska and when his dad became the County Attorney they moved to the county seat in Beaver City, Nebraska. Bob passed away on September 10, 2019 at Boswell Hospital, in Sun City, AZ..

When Bob was between the ages of eleven and thirteen and his father was serving in the Navy in World War II, Bob became "the man of the house". The family returned to Cambridge, NE. Bob was active in all sports: baseball, basketball, football and All State Honorable Mention in Basketball. He was the second person to receive the Butch Luther Award for the most outstanding athlete during his senior year at Cambridge High School.

After graduating from Cambridge High School in 1950, Bob attended Doane College in Crete, NE. Bob spent four years in the Navy during the Korean War and then he attended the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Bob joined the Masonic Lodge and later became a 32-degree Scottish Rite Shriner in Lincoln, NE. Bob graduated from Hermann Hospital Therapy School in Houston, Texas. Bob married Janet Friedrichsen in 1960, in Sutherland, Iowa. To this union three children were born: Mark, Paige (Jeff Campbell), and Michelle (Tom) Costello; grandchildren: Kaylyn (Zach Kelley), Karley (Craig Summitt) and one great grandchild, Cash Kelley and one on the way. The family lived in Houston, Texas: Cheyenne, Wyoming; Ottumwa, Iowa and Fort Dodge, Iowa.

Bob participated in bowling, tennis and golf leagues. In 1989, Bob resigned as Head Physical Therapist of Trinity Regional Hospital in Fort Dodge, Iowa and moved to Sun City, Arizona. He became a member of Union Hills Country Club in 1989. In Sun City, Bob continued to work in the Physical Therapy Department at Boswell Hospital. He retired in 1996.

Bob was the first immediate family member to score a hole-in-one during a family golf tournament. Bob enjoyed watching basketball, Arizona Diamondbacks and St. Louis Cardinals baseball, Arizona Cardinals and Nebraska Cornhuskers. Bob was selected to join the Honor Flight in September of 2018.

Celebration of Life was on September 27, 2019 in Sun City, Arizona. Interment will be Saturday, October 26, 2019 at Fairview Cemetery in Cambridge, Nebraska at 11:00 A.M.  Military Honors will be performed  by Naval Honors detail at graveside.

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