BEVERLY JEAN WILLIAMS PHILLIPS

Beverly Jean Williams Phillips, 80, wife of Jimmie Hugh Phillips, left this life on Friday, Oct. 4, 2019.

Born Nov. 8, 1938, in Auburn, New York, she was a daughter of the late Harold Jesse Williams and Clara Amelia Stuttle Williams. She was a lifetime member (more than 50 years - since April 1967) of the Beta Sigma Phi Sorority. Throughout the years, she held every sorority office and was currently serving as Xi Eta Chapter vice president. She was crowned the Valentine Queen numerous times, including for 2019. Beverly was also an active member of American Legion Auxiliary (ALA) Unit 15 and served as chairwoman on several committees. In July 2011 at the ALA Department of South Carolina, she won first place for public relations. Beverly attended Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. She retired in May 2002 from the 20th Supply Squadron, Shaw Air Force Base (AFB), after 19 years and 8 months of civil service. For many of those years, she worked at the Shaw AFB Education Center and, prior to that, in a civil service position at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. She was an active United States Air Force (USAF) military spouse for 30 years, a member of the Non-Commissioned Officer Wives' Club and lived in Florida, Okinawa, Japan, California, Guam, Texas, South Carolina and Germany. She sent more than 100 Christmas letters annually to family and friends she made along her journey. She loved to travel and eat out. She and Jimmie traveled extensively in the United States, Europe and went on 12 cruises with friends.

Survivors include her husband of 62 years (their first date was to an Elvis Presley concert); two children, Janet Rake (Thom) of Hampton, Virginia, and Jeff Phillips (Tracie) of Sumter; four grandchildren, Samantha Phillips, U.S. Air Force Airman Joshua Phillips, Christopher Phillips and Justin Phillips; two great-grandchildren, Cayden Phillips and Rylynn Phillips; and one sister, Sharon Loetz of Spindale, North Carolina.

The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Elmore-Cannon-Stephens Funeral Home on Miller Road in Sumter.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday in the Elmore-Cannon-Stephens Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Steve Miller officiating. Burial will be at 1 p.m. Friday at Fort Jackson National Cemetery.

Elmore-Cannon-Stephen Funeral Home and Crematorium of Sumter is in charge of the arrangements.