Thomas Jefferson Phillips passed away at the age of 89 on Sept. 30, 2013, after a long illness. He was born in a log cabin in Figure Five, Ark. on May 19, 1924. He attended elementary school in Rudy and graduated high school in Alma. He then attended Ft. Smith Junior College. In 1946 he joined the Army and was in the 8th Army that occupied Japan at the end of World War II. He attended Arkansas State Teacher’s College in Conway, where he received his Bachelor’s Degree and the University of Arkansas, where he received his Master’s Degree and met Joy Pickett, his wife of almost 62 years. He began his teaching career at several small schools in Arkansas. Then they moved to Louisiana where he continued his teaching career.
