Bryan Arthur Henry Phillips

Lynnita Phillips,
sweetheart and wife of 40 years

We have been blessed...

Bryan gave me my first kiss when I was just turning 16. He was a gorgeous young man, and I fell in love easily. We married at 19 and 20, and went on to have four children in five years... He was a great Dad.

Our lives wrapped around each other. He was a carpenter and mechanic... So good with his hands. And he was a mentor to many people - very wise, and a man of few words. If any of us had a problem, Bryan always brought life back to center. He was faithful, strong, beautiful and every bit the man God wanted him to be.

Now we have eight grandchildren... He is Papa to them. We have a wonderful family together. We all love Bryan with all our hearts, and he has left a massive hole that can only be filled by him.

On March 20, 2004, he had a massive heart attack and died, just one week before our daughter's wedding. His funeral was on Thursday, and the wedding was on Saturday. We planned a huge family reunion, not knowing that we would be saying goodbye to Bryan then, too. Five men got up to share what Bryan meant in their lives. He had shared Jesus with them. He gave them the best gift he possibly could.

We have been blessed by Bryan, and know this is not the final goodbye, but we will see him again in Heaven. So it's goodbye only for a little while. If you are the fortunate person who received Bryan's eyes... I think of you often. His eyes were hazel, and usually a little irritated by all the sawdust from his work. I am so glad we could pass on something of him to give you sight! God bless you.

Love always,
Lynn

My heart can sing when I pause to remember,
A heartache here is but a stepping stone.
Along the trail that's winding always upwards,
This troubled world is not my final home.

But until then my heart will go on singing,
Until then with joy I'll carry on,
Until the day my eyes behold the city,
Until the day God calls me home.

This weary world with all its toil and struggle
May take its toll of misery and strife
The soul of man is like a waiting falcon...
When it's released, it's destined for the skies.

- From "Until Then" by Stuart Hamblen, copyright 1958