Phillip Sanderson

Phillip Terrance Sanderson, age 62 years 4 months and 12 days, went home to be with the Lord and his parents, Mae and Gunter Sanderson on August 26, 2026, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Phillip was born April 25, 1964, in Savannah, Tennessee to Gunter Sanderson Jr. and Mae Cherry Sanderson.

Phillip attended Savannah High School, which he graduated year 1982, in Savannah, Tennessee. He then attended TCAT (Tennessee College of Applied Technologies) in Crump, Tennessee, where he became certified as an Automotive Collision Technician. He later completed TCAT of Smyrna, Tennessee and was certified as an Automotive Technician and worked as an instructor over the auto body program of the college.

Phillip was a very social man. Especially when you started talking to him. He was a wealth of knowledge from his automotive background to giving you life lessons and advice. That’s really what led him to becoming a teacher at TCAT because he wanted to help raise the next generation in the automotive industry. From drag racing in his Buick Grand National with his friends and wife, to drag racing mustangs with his two children, spreading the knowledge from his 40+ years of being a Collision Repair Technician as well as an Automotive Technician to lastly creating his dream of owning his own Automotive shop, “Sanderson Performance.” I’d say he left not only knowledge to help the world, but a legacy that will be remembered forever.

Phillip Sanderson was a great family man, devoted and a loving father. On July 10, 1993, he was united in holy matrimony to Andrea Renee Irwin, and this union was blessed with two children, Kristopher Blake Sanderson and Alyssa Lauren Sanderson. The family was raised in Nashville, Tennessee, where Phillip accepted a position at Peterbilt Motors, where he worked for 9 years, and Andrea worked at UPS. He also worked for the City of La Vergne Utility and Fleet Department for 10 years, while going back to school to pursue his diploma at TCAT for Automotive Technology, under the training of his instructor and friend, Eric Love.

Phillip and Andrea were members of Olive Branch Church of Murfreesboro for 26+ years. They were also members of Graham Chapel CME Church as children, until young adults in Savannah, Tennessee.

He leaves to cherish precious memories: his wife, Andrea Irwin Sanderson of Lebanon, Tennessee; son, Kristopher Blake Sanderson; daughter-in-law, Cameron Casner; granddaughter, Kehlani Claire Sanderson of Shelbyville, Tennessee; daughter, Alyssa Lauren Sanderson of Nashville, Tennessee; sister, Millicent Diane Sanderson of Savannah, Tennessee; brother, Gunter Hayes Sanderson; sister-in-law, Miranda Denton Sanderson; nephews, Gavin and Aiden; niece, Emma, all of Selmer, Tennessee; and a host of other devoted family members and friends.