Donald J. Phillis

Moline, Illinois

Donald J. "Buck" Phillis, 86, of Moline, Illinois, died Sunday, November 30, 2014, in his home with his family by his side, after a courageous battle with cancer.

Services are 10:00 a.m. Saturday at First Baptist Church, Moline, with The Reverends Dr. Flint Miller and Debbie Miller officiating. Burial is in Rock Island Memorial Park. Visitation is 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. Friday at Trimble Funeral Home at Trimble Pointe, 701 12th Street, Moline. Memorials may be made to the church.

Donald Jack Phillis was born September 17, 1928, in Peoria, Illinois, the oldest son of Og A. and Lillian Parr Phillis. Don lived briefly in Monmouth, Illinois. Prior to starting school he moved with his family to Cambridge, Illinois. He attended Cambridge area schools including a one-room school house for three years. He graduated from Cambridge High School with the close knit class of 1946.

After graduating he worked various jobs including farm hand, Village Dairy and building silos. In 1951, he entered the U.S. Army and served in Alaska until 1953. After his service he returned to Cambridge and was employed by Alcoa and enrolled at Augustana College. Don worked second shift at Alcoa while attending classes during the day at Augustana. He graduated in 1959 with a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics.

He worked at Alcoa as an inspector until he graduated from Augustana. He was promoted to the position of Industrial Engineer. In 1966, he transferred into the Procurement Department as a Construction Purchasing Agent. In this capacity he participated in many interesting projects. He served as a Procurement Manager in North Carolina. He retired from Davenport Works in 1991 after completion of the renovation of Davenport's 100-inch rolling mill complex.

On December 4, 1954, he entered in marriage to Shirley (Shryack) Phillis. She preceded him in death in 1999. They were blessed with a son Brian K. (deceased) and Jacqulyn (Mark) Cobb, who teaches in Rock Island, Illinois. He was blessed with three grandchildren, Jennifer (Ben) Schrempf, Dawn (Mike) Carnahan and Travis Phillis, four great grandchildren, Keegan and Lex Carnahan, Madelyn and Bella Schrempf, who all believed their grandpa hung the moon.

In 2001, he met and married Wilma (Willie) Walker Phillis and resided in Moline, where they created many wonderful memories together. It also brought an additional family of daughter, Rhonda DeBoard (Timothy) and five wonderful grandchildren, Rachael (Chad) Thrasher, Emily, Taylor, Lauren, and Sara DeBoard, and two great grandchildren, Alec and Cole Thrasher, who loved and adored their grandpa.

Don was a very active member of the First Baptist Church of Moline, where he served on many committees. He was also affectionately known as the "Cookie Man" where he lived up to that name at Christmas with 150 dozen give aways. He was an die-hard Chicago Cubs' fan for 80 years and was known to say "maybe next year."

He is survived by wife Willie Walker Phillis, brothers William (Anne) Phillis, Dr. Richard (Bud) (Diane) Phillis, daughters Jacqulyn and Rhonda, grandchildren and great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, brothers Calvin, Kenneth, and Robert, sisters Lois (Tommy), Delores, and Lucille (Lou).

Visit Don's personal tribute page at www.TrimbleFuneralhomes.com to share stories and condolences, send flowers, and light a free candle in his memory.