Ed Phillips, 86, of Statesville, N.C., went home to be with the Lord on March 4, 2024, at the Gordon Hospice House of Iredell County. Ed was born in Dekalb County, Ga., to the late Decatur Jackson Phillips and Mildred Pounds Phillips.

He attended high school at Richmond Academy in Augusta, Ga., and he played football at Georgia Tech University where he became an engineer with the telephone company for the next 42 years. Ed was an elder at Edgemont Presbyterian Church in Bristol, Tenn., where he was very active in serving and took many short-term mission trips. He later became a member of Eufola Baptist Church in Statesville.

He is survived by his wife Kay Phillips; his two sons, Jack Phillips (Angi) and Clark Phillips (Grace); his brother, Jack Phillips (Charlene); and four grandchildren, Samantha, Carson, Cooper, and Clay.

Funeral services will be conducted Friday, March 8, at 2 p.m. at Eufola Baptist Church with Rev. Larry Stallard and Pastor Coleman Hamby officiating. Burial will follow at Oakwood Cemetery. The family will visit with friends on Thursday, March 7, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Troutman Funeral Home Chapel.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Mission Fund at Eufola Baptist Church, 207 Carriage Road, Statesville, NC 28677.

Troutman Funeral Home is serving the family.