Martha Allie Sue Sherrill Phillips, 99, a resident of Cameron since 1935, died at her home Sunday, Nov. 13, 2011.
She was born Feb. 4, 1912, in Granite Falls, to the late Jane Adelaide Cook Sherrill and Julius Virgil Sherrill, the second of three brothers and a sister: William Aaron, James Virgil, Frank Roger and Frances Teague. Soon after graduating in 1933 from the Woman’s College of the University of North Carolina, now UNCG, with a degree in biology, Sue came to Cameron to begin a teaching career that spanned 32 years in both Moore County and Lee County, eventually teaching subjects ranging from English to chemistry and physics and serving as both elementary and high school librarian. Later she earned a master’s degree in education from UNC Chapel Hill. She was a member of the Gamma Sigma Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma, and in 1998, she received the UNCG Alumni Distinguished Service Award.
In 1936, Sue married Angus Peter (Pete) Phillips, a merchant farmer, and they had two daughters, Mary Jane and Ann. Always active with Pete in their community and church as well as in the political life of community, state and nation, Sue served for six years as a town commissioner and 14 years as chair of the planning board, helping to get a Community Block Grant in the early 1990s to upgrade and revitalize the McNeill Street area. With others, she worked to preserve Cameron’s historic buildings and a new town hall was built on land Pete and Sue had given to the town that also included the site for the town’s first fire station. One of Sue’s other legacies to Cameron was her recent gift of 24 acres in the eastern part of town, Phillips Memorial Park, with its walking trails, wooded areas, a stocked fishing pond and playgrounds.
As a lifelong Democrat and member of the Democratic Women of Moore County, Sue supported the Democratic Party and its candidates on all levels with her time and resources. She was recognized by the Democratic Women of Moore County as one of their outstanding members for her service to community, county and state. Other civic and cultural organizations included the League of Women Voters of Moore County, the Moore County Historical Association and the Moore County Arts Council. A member of Cameron Presbyterian Church, Sue taught Sunday School into her 90s, organized the church library, chaired the church’s centennial committee and held many church offices. In the Coastal Carolina Presbytery, she served 10 years as secretary of the Committee on Preparation for Ministry. Sue was recognized in 2000 as an Outstanding Senior in the Coastal Carolina Presbytery.
Sue Phillips is survived by her daughter, Mary Jane Dickerson; grandson, Albert Inskip Dickerson, his wife, Sarah, great-grandson, Angus, and great-granddaughter, Mary Jo, of Vermont; granddaughter, Ann Meigs Dickerson, her husband, Azzam Elayan, great-granddaughter, Leila, and great-grandson Adam. She is also survived by her daughter, Ann Sherrill McCracken, her husband, Webb McCracken, of Sanford; granddaughter, Sherrill McCracken, her husband, Ryan Richardson, and great-grandson Jack Richardson, of Georgia; granddaughter, Sarah McCracken Cobb, her husband, Ken, and great-granddaughters, Rebecca and Caroline, of Raleigh; granddaughter, Mary Ann Compton, her husband, Will Compton, great-grandsons, James Webb and Peter, and great-granddaughter, Anna of Apex. Her survivors also include many nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews, great-grandnieces and great-grandnephews.
A funeral service was held at 11 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 17, at Cameron Presbyterian Church.
Memorials may be sent to the Phillips Memorial Park, Town of Cameron, P. O. Box 248, Cameron N. C. 28326 or to Cameron Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 68, Cameron, N, C. 28326.
Condolences may be made at www.rogerspickard.com. Arrangements are by Rogers Pickard Funeral Home.