Stephen W. Phillips

STEPHEN WESLEY PHILLIPS

Henderson, TN: Stephen Wesley Phillips age 39 passed away Tuesday December 27, 2016 at Jackson Madison County General Hospital.

He was born January 13, 1977, and raised in the Big Springs/Five Points Community of Madison County. He moved to Henderson in 1987 where he attended Chester County Schools and graduated with honors in 1995. He graduated from Union University in 1999 with a B.A. in Communication Arts with a minor in Marketing. While there he was an active member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and many other university organizations. He worked for TransSouth Health Care in Jackson before moving to Nashville, where he worked for Digital Dog, Goldleaf Technology and PBS&J. In 2006 he returned home to Henderson and worked for Thomas Media in Jackson, before returning to Nashville in 2010 when he landed one of his dream jobs as an executive with Gaylord Entertainment. He remained there until the company was bought out, and he came back to Henderson in 2012 and rejoined Thomas Media.

An early adopter of the Internet, Stephen combined his creativity and passions in many ways with the launch of his namesake brand and company sWp Omnimedia. A twinkle forever in his eye, he loved games of all sorts, relished a challenge and could quote an endless amount of lines from his favorite movies and TV shows including Dallas and Star Wars. His avid interest in themeparks was sparked at an early age, and his love of all things Disney and Opryland blossomed into an academic knowledge of attractions across the world. He was proud to have created the first website dedicated to a rollercoaster, his beloved “CHAOS,” and became a recognized Opryland Themepark historian. In August 2016, Stephen published his first book, Opryland USA, and created his Opryland memorabilia line.

Stephen leaves behind his Mother, Vicki Phillips, his cousins Josh Williams (Amber and son Cole), Julie Hammons (Anthony and son Jaxon), an uncle, Billy R. Williams and an aunt, Karen Leath (Doug). He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Billy Gene and Pearl Williams. He also leaves behind his father, Timothy Phillips (Robin), half-sister, Thrysten Blow (Nathan), half-brother, Eric Phillips (Kendall), grandmother, Nancy Phillips, aunt, Nancy Stephens (Bobby), aunt, Susan Wheeler (Chuck), and uncle, Roger Phillips (Debbie). He was preceded in death by his half-brother, Timmy Phillips and also his grandfather, Lamar Phillips. He will also be dearly missed by his childhood friends, Rebecca Haithcoat, Phyllis Crawford, (Jeff, Gavin, Kylee), Phillip and Polly Robison (Reese, Garrett), Tay McDaniel (Chris, Christopher, Kathleen, Taylor).

Funeral services will be 2:00 PM Friday, December 30, 2016 at Shackelford Funeral Directors – Casey Chapel with Keith Brown and Rebecca Haithcoat officiating. Burial will follow in Big Springs Cemetery.

The family will receive friends at Casey Chapel 5:00 PM until 9:00 PM on Thursday.

Shackelford Funeral Directors – Casey Chapel
Henderson, TN
731-989-2421