Robert Lee Phillips, 86, passed away suddenly on Tuesday, July 18, 2017. Bob (Bobby) was born on January 14, 1931 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the youngest of five children to Guy Berryman and Annie Craig Phillips. The family moved in 1936 to Chapel Hill where his father became the Dean of the School of Education at the University of North Carolina. Bobby grew up in a magical house on East Rosemary Street, was a five-sport letterman at Chapel Hill High School (1949) and went on to graduate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, playing basketball for Coaches Tom Scott and Frank McGuire. As the 'townie' on the team, he often recalled the times he was tasked with introducing the New Yorker McGuire to his idyllic hometown.

Earning his wings in the United States Air Force, he was stationed at Langley Field where one morning serving as Officer of the Day, he met the prettiest secretary in the world, Ann Pope Lockwood. Several home-cooked meals sealed the deal and they married on June 16, 1956 in Wren Chapel on the campus of her alma mater, the College of William & Mary.

On the waters of Hampton Roads, Bob and Ann raised their two boys, enjoying all aspects of that backyard playground including the maintenance of ramps, seawall and pier, annual fiber-glassing of kid-tested Boston Whalers, watching his beloved osprey family and the work ethic of a hotel of martins. He enjoyed racing sailboats and the company of good friends he met through those events; early days on boats with Ann and their boys were most memorable.

He was a member of Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Wythe and then First Presbyterian Church of Hampton. He was a member of Hampton Yacht Club, Hampton Roads Assembly, German Club and worked tirelessly for the Merrimac Shores Civic Association and George Wythe Pool and countless other civic organizations.

Bob has dutifully spent the last sixty-one years waiting on, singing to and caring for his beloved 'Poke'. His boys cannot recall any game or other event in their lives where their dad was not in attendance, quietly hanging on the fence or sitting in the bleachers.

Bob went to work for Lockwood Brothers in Hampton in 1960 and thrived on fostering long term, trusting relationships that led to rewarding performances on spectacular projects. His reputation and fairness, his consistent set of expectations of others and himself were authentic and genuine.

He took tremendous pride in the accomplishments of the Lockwood Brothers "team" of men that could lift, move and haul over land or water just about anything one could imagine. Bob was a shrewd negotiator and firm manager, but always considered fair. He was in the office Tuesday; even making time to slip out midday for a haircut. Outside of immediate family, Lockwood Brothers was his passion.

He was preceded in death by his parents, three older brothers, Guy B. Phillips, Jr., Charlie C. Phillips, and Dr. A. Craig Phillips and sister Helen P. Graham. He is survived by his wife and two children, Robert Lee Phillips, Jr. and wife Sarah Dew Phillips of Newport News, Will Lockwood Phillips and wife Jennifer Pezzella Phillips of Hampton; six grandchildren, John Robert Phillips, Patrick Berryman Phillips, Jane Keller Phillips, Thomas Lockwood Phillips, Benjamin Wheat Phillips and Mary Katherine Phillips; two step-grandchildren, Meredith Schilling Hutchens and Carey Michael Hutchens II. Bridget Breden and Patty Davis, caregivers for Ann and her Alzheimer's, have enriched Bob's life with their abundant love and support.

Family and friends are invited to celebrate the wonderful life of Bob Phillips at First Presbyterian Church, 514 South Armistead Avenue, Hampton, Virginia on Saturday, July 22, 2017 at 12:00 pm. Interment will be private.

In lieu of flowers and with his beloved Ann in mind, memorial contributions are encouraged to be made to the Alzheimer's Association, 6350 Center Drive, Suite 102, Norfolk, VA 23502 ( www.alz.org ) or to the Music Program of First Presbyterian Church of Hampton.