James Dale Phillips Sr.

JAMES DALE "JIM" PHILLIPS, SR, age 86 years, a resident of the Blackman Flats Community, Hambleton, WV, departed this life February 1, 2017 at ll:15 PM, at his home, surrounded by his loving wife, family members, and the West Virginia Caring. Jim was born Saturday, August 30, 1930 at the family residence in Parsons, West Virginia. He was the son of Joe and Hazel Ann Plum Phillips. On July 3, 1954 at Oakland, Maryland, he was married to the former Alice Elaine Parsons, who survives. They celebrated sixty two years of marriage. Also surviving are two sons, James Dale Phillips, Jr. and wife Karen of Etna, WY, John Patrick Phillips and wife Debbie of Crescent City, CA; one daughter, Regina Dawn Phillips and husband Larry Moore of Harpers Ferry, WV; one brother, Hayward L. Phillips of Blackman Flats, WV; and one sister Ann Isner of Kingsport, TN; four grandchildren: Seth Phillips, Maya Phillips, and Brittney Phillips of CA, and Kristian Moore of WV. He was preceded in death by one son Gregory Dwayne Phillips; one brother "Buck" Verus; and two sisters, Dorotha and Avinelle. Jim was a graduate of Parsons High School Class of 1948 and inducted into the Parsons High School Hall of Fame 2005. He was a past member of the Parsons Junior Fire Department. His first job was delivering milk for the Holsberry Dairy as a young boy during World War II. In the summers during high school, he worked at the Phillips Brothers Sawmill in Montrose, WV. He was an employee of the Parsons Tannery, Dorman Mills, Keeley Construction Company and helped with the construction of the Kingsford Charcoal Company. He served two years in the United States Army during the Korean Conflict and with the aid of the G. I. Bill attended West Virginia University and Davis & Elkins College as a student of Forestry. He worked for the U.S. Forest Service on a term appointment. He ran and won the position as Sheriff of Tucker County and Treasurer 1960-1964. As the Sheriff, he acquired a bankrupt system that paid with "No Fund Checks". It was an area of pride for him to say at the end of his term, the County was no longer in the "red" and could pay their bills. In 1964 Jim became a U.S. Department of Agriculture Division of the U.S. Forest Service permanent employee. During his tenure, he worked on research projects some of which included Acid Rain Effects on the Environment at the Timber and Watershed Laboratory in Parsons. During this time he attended many certificated courses: Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry, Chemical Analyses for Water Quality, National Atmospheric Deposition Program, Hazardous Chemicals Safety, and Numerous Chemistry courses at Davis & Elkins College in Elkins, West Virginia. He retired as a Biological Laboratory Biochemistry Technician with 25 years of service. During his time with the U.S. Forest Service his course of studies took him to numerous locations throughout the United States some of which included Illinois, Massachusetts, Ohio, Colorado, Montana, and numerous other locations. Jim became a weather observer for the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration while working for the U.S. Forest Service and continued to work for them as a weather observer with 35 years of service. Upon retirement with the U.S. Forest Service, he administered a pilot program involving research stations at his farm on Blackman Flats for the Harvard School of Public Health and Pollution Research under a grant funded by the Environmental Protection Agency in Chapel Hill, NC. Jim was an elected member of the Tucker County Board of Education with six years of service 1970-1976 and was the Board President two of them. He participated in the dedication ceremony for the opening of the new Tucker Valley Elementary Middle School. Jim's passion was being a good steward for the preservation of numerous historical artifacts and historically significant buildings in Tucker County. He was a volunteer, President, museum curator, and a Board of Director member for the Tucker County Historical Society since its inception. In 2007, he was one of 52 West Virginian's honored by former First Lady Gayle Manchin for contributing to local historical society efforts as a West Virginia "History Hero". A second passion of Jims was farming, gardening, and providing vegetables to sale at the local farmers market. He was an avid supporter of the Tucker County 4-H youth serving programs. He is a life-long member of the First United Methodist Church in Parsons, WV and a member of the men's breakfast group. He was a member of the West Virginia Sheriffs' Association and a member of Post 200 of the American Legion. Jim loved to travel with Alice and they visited friends and family touring the lower forty-eight states during his lifetime. They hope to travel more in their next life together. Jim has donated his body to the West Virginia University School of Science and Research Human Gift Registry. In Lieu of flowers, the family is establishing a memorial endowment for the preservation and maintenance of the St. George Academy, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Contributions in his honor may be made to the Tucker Community Foundation. He and Alice spent many hours helping it achieve the National Register status. The Academy's permanent location was donated by the Parsons Family and is where Alice Parsons Phillips and many family members attended school. A celebration of Jim's life will be held at a later date for friends and family to honor him.