Douglas Andrew Phillips passed away peacefully on March 12, 2021 at Shannon Medical Center in San Angelo, Texas surrounded by his family.  Douglas was born to Henry and Mamie (Hight) Phillips on February 6, 1939 and was raised in Menard County, Texas.  He attended school in Menard and graduated from Menard High School.  In 1951, as a young boy, Doug won Grand Champion Lamb and received a silver belt buckle with an inscription reading "Holland Production Award, Menard County 1951".  He proudly wore this beautiful buckle throughout his entire life.

After high school, Doug enlisted in the United States Army serving from 1962-1964 in the USAR Control Group VIII as a Medical Specialist Corpsman.  During his tour in the Army, Doug was stationed in Paris and Greece.  He was honorably discharged on March 31, 1969.  He was proud of his years in the service and shared fond memories of his time overseas.  Doug has kept in contact with a special Army buddy throughout the remainder of his life and looked forward to phone calls where they got to relive the good ole days.

Shortly after returning from his time in the Army, Douglas met Linda (McWilliams) and fell head over heels in love and knew after a short time, that she was "the one".  Doug and Linda were married on July 31, 1965.  Where you saw one, you saw the other.  The two shared their life side by side.  They farmed and ranched in Hext and Melvin raising sheep and cattle and various crops throughout their life together.

Douglas was a devoted Christian.  On May 30, 1984 he and Linda were baptized together.  He served as a deacon in the First Baptist Church in Mason, Texas from 1985 until October 23, 2017.  He was an active member of the church and chaired the First Baptist Church Building and Grounds Committee for 25 years.  During this time, he volunteered many hours putting in the church's sprinkler system, ensuring the church was ready to go before every service and built a manger scene to proudly display in front of the church.  Doug served as chair of the committee when the Ray Ash Fellowship Hall was constructed and dedicated to their beloved pastor.  He and Linda were actively involved for years in the church choir, Crew Youth and Jam groups for the kids.  Doug loved teaching Sunday school.  He was devoted to the First Baptist Church as a true servant of God for many years. For the last two years, Doug and Linda made their church home in Voca, Texas at the Liberty Baptist Church where Ray Ash currently serves as pastor.  During his illness, Doug enjoyed daily phone calls from Brother Ray and was showered with numerous calls, cards and prayers from the members of Liberty Baptist Church congregation.  This brought Doug much enjoyment and comfort over the past several months during his illness.

Douglas had a gift to build or fix anything.  If Doug had a picture of something, he could build it!  He and his brother, Roger built the house that he and Linda called home for 55 years, as well as many other homes for family and friends.  There was nothing that he couldn't do.  He had the mind of an engineer and the skill of a craftsman.

Doug loved to celebrate and decorate for Christmas and Halloween.  Doug had his beautiful red Santa suit and Linda was by his side for many years as Mrs. Claus.  Through the years, many children sat on his knee and shared their Christmas wishes with him.  The Christmas lights and décor in their yard were one of a kind as he had designed and built them all. Doug even built a sleigh and reindeer for the roof and a lighted, mechanical carousel that turned with a motor for their front lawn at Christmas.  Christmas was a magical time for him!  At Halloween, many a kid and a few adults ran screaming from their home on Wilson Street from getting the fright of their life.  He made sure that all of his props were built to perfection to make his haunted lawn a ghoulish adventure!  The kids waited with excited anticipation for what new additions would be haunting them each year.  He would raise his brow, squint his eyes and give a hearty belly laugh during all the fun!  Doug and Linda brought so much enjoyment to the community and gained much enjoyment themselves especially during this time of the year.

Doug and Linda enjoyed vacationing in New Mexico, Colorado, Oregon and Yellowstone but his favorite place was at their farm just a few miles from Hext.  Whether he was plowing ground and planting wheat, working sheep and cows or fishing along the bank of the beautiful San Saba River, Doug was happiest when he and Linda were there.  He worked hard all of his life to have a place that many only dreamt of.

Family was important to Doug.  He was greatly loved by all of his nieces and nephews who knew him as Uncle Bubba or Uncle Honey.  Family time was playing dominoes or chicken foot, singing gospel hymns, fishing at the river, a day at the place working cattle or sheep or just visiting for hours.  It didn't really matter what was going on, if you were with Doug, you were having a good time and sharing many laughs!  He loved all of his family greatly and cherished the times he could spend with each of them.  Doug's family was much bigger than just blood relations though. If Douglas loved you, you were family.

Douglas had three deer hunters for over 20 years that ranked right up there with his family. He enjoyed getting to visit with them when they were at the farm deer hunting and they called often through the years to check on Doug and Linda to make sure they were ok and to see if they needed anything.

Over the last year, Douglas battled health issues and it was during that time that Raymond Montes became a very dear friend to Douglas. Raymond and Doug talked daily regarding what needed to be done at the farm place. Raymond took care of Doug's sheep and cattle and made sure that nothing that needed attention was overlooked. He was instrumental in keeping the farm going with the assistance of Linda and some of Doug's nieces and nephews while Doug was unable to. Doug cherished Raymond's friendship greatly.

Douglas was preceded in death by his parents, Henry and Mamie Phillips and a brother, Roger Phillips.

Survivors include his loving wife of 55 years, Linda and sister, Patsy Ransom, along with many nieces and nephews.

Pallbearers:  Chad Phillips, Steve Schooley, Randy Carlile, Monty Oneal, Joel Allen and a very special friend, Raymond Montes.

Honorary Pallbearers:  Bruce Robbins, Kurt Eppler, John Crow, Bret Bauer, Bill Hight, Jimmy Schooley, George Carlile, Coby Phillips, Gregg Woerner, Garrett Carlile, Dick Hahn, John "Gator" Hillman, Chris Murray and Gene Matthews.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the Coffey Cemetery, West Texas Rehab or St. Jude's Children's Hospital.

Visitation will be held Tuesday, March 16, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. with Funeral Services immediately following at 10:00 a.m. at Mason Funeral Home. Burial to follow at the Coffey Cemetery.

The family is grateful to the doctors and nurses at Shannon Medical Center for their compassionate and attentive care.  A special thank you to Juan Dietz, a nurse at Shannon who took exceptional care of Douglas during his stay in the hospital.   Thank you to Hill Country Preferred Senior Care, Jana Haley and Ubaldo Mora for Doug's care while at home in Mason.  Also, many thanks to all of the family and friends for the trips to San Antonio and San Angelo, the food, calls and prayers. Every act of kindness during this difficult time has been greatly appreciated. May God bless each of you as you have blessed the family of Douglas Phillips.