Services for Forrest Charles Phillips, Jr., of Hattiesburg, were held Feb. 10 at Main Street Methodist Church in Hattiesburg.
Phillips was killed Feb. 4 in a two-vehicle crash in Walthall County on his way home from officiating a high school basketball game in Amite, La.
He was 60.
Forrest was born on March 24, 1959, in Hattiesburg to Charles and Nellie Phillips.
He was a 1977 graduate of Hattiesburg High School, where he was an all-sports equipment manager. He graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1982, where he served as equipment manager for the Rebel football and baseball teams, rising to head student manager for Coach Jake Gibbs’ baseball team.
In 1983, he married Pamela Lynn Rath, of Wiggins and settled in Slidell, where he worked for Hershey as a sales representative.
After the birth of their oldest son, Forrest Charles “Chip” Phillips III, Forrest and Pam moved to Brandon, where Forrest worked for United Salt Corporation.
During his time with both Hershey and United Salt, Forrest won numerous sales awards and recognitions for his proformance, including the President’s Cup for outstanding performance during his time at Hershey.
After two years in Brandon, his job took him back to Hattiesburg, where his youngest son, Henry Claiborne “Clay” Phillips, was born.
Forrest spent the next 20 years of his professional career in the fabric business working for RM Coco and The Robert Allen Duralee Group, including the last nine months with Carole Fabrics.
Outside of his work, Forrest was a decorated sports official, officiating youth, high school and college football, baseball, softball and basketball for more than 40 years.
He spent a year officiating SEC women’s basketball and was once selected to officiate a women’s NCAA basketball tournament. He was also a member of the Mississippi Collegiate Umpires Association, serving most recently on the MCUA board.
He also coached a number of youth sports teams for his sons.
Phillips was a member of the Elks Lodge, Hattiesburg Krewe of Zeus, and served on the Hattiesburg Parks and Recreation board as well as the board of directors of the University of Mississippi Alumni Association. A former deacon at First Baptist Church of Hattiesburg, he was most recently an active member of Main Street United Methodist.
Phillips is survived by his wife of 36 years, Pamela Rath Phillips, as well as his sons and their wives – Chip and Mary Katherine of Goldsboro, North Carolina, and Clay and Allison of Oxford.
He was the proud grandfather of Forrest Charles Phillips IV (Charles) and Mary Marshall Phillips.
Forrest is also survived by his brother, Perry, and wife, Alana, of Hattiesburg; sister, Lee, and husband, David, of Dallas; his sister-in-law, Dana Bryan Phillips; his in-laws, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Rath, of Wiggins; and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by a brother, William Scott Phillips.
Memorials may be made to Aldersgate Mission, an urban mission project of Main Street Methodist.
