Suzanne Phillips

Suzanne Phillips, of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, passed away Friday, April 24, 2020, in West Grove, PA. She was the cherished wife of Donald Phillips. Don and Sue met at Kennett High School in the 1950s, and shared 61 years of marriage in their beloved Kennett Square.

Born 1936 in Philadelphia, she was the daughter of Ann and John Dowdell, who moved to Kennett Square when Sue was a young child. Sue earned a Bachelors degree in Education from West Chester University and later taught fifth grade in Kennett Square. Later she worked at her husbands budding new enterprise, Phillips Mushroom Farm, as a receptionist and bookkeeper, during the early formation of the company, and helped design their logo.

She was a parishioner of St. Patrick Church in Kennett Square for many years, and later at St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother in Avondale. She loved nothing better than to line up her beloved family in a long pew, and celebrate Christmas Eve mass together. Sue was an avid reader, tennis player, gardener, and loved to play card games, charades, scrabble and a multitude of other social, engaging games. She and her cohorts were infamous for creating elaborate treasure hunt events that involved team collaboration, scavenger escapades and a variety of creative libations. Gin and tonic was Sues go to.

First and foremost, Sue was indisputably dedicated to her family. She left her working career to be a dedicated mom to three rambunctious sons. She loved her extended family as well, inviting her sister and family from Chicago to vacation in New Jersey every summer, and hosting an annual family reunion, inviting aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews and nieces from Philadelphia at her residence in Kennett Square. Ever the hostess, Sue and Dons annual Christmas parties were legendary, to which over a hundred friends and relatives travelled far and wide to attend.
Sue is survived by her husband, Don; her son Steve Phillips and his wife Sharon; her son Michael Phillips and his wife, Arlene; and her son John (J.J.) and his wife Julianna; as well as six grandchildren: Alexis, Austin, Scott, Sarah, Skyler and Kaolin. Sue was preceded in death by one brother, John Dowdell. She is survived by her sister, Nancy Harp, of South Carolina.
There will be a private burial service within a week or two. The family will be announcing a more celebratory memorial event in the coming months.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Sues memory to the Kennett Square Library (on which she was on the board for many years) or the American Cancer Society.

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