Phllip Morris McKinney

Philip Morris McKinney, a beloved public servant and community leader, passed away peacefully on Friday, June 21, 2024, at the age of 83. Phil was a celebrated high school teacher and coach for Mitchell County, North Carolina schools for more than 30 years.
He was born at home in the Mine Creek community of Bakersville, on Dec. 7, 1940, to Wilson Sanford McKinney and Rena Grindstaff McKinney. In that community, Phil's lifelong passions for family, nature, and the game of basketball first developed. He is preceded in death by his father, mother, and three brothers, Kenneth McKinney, Leo Pat McKinney, and Bruce Floyd McKinney.
Phil graduated in 1959 from Bowman High School in Bakersville, where he was an accomplished player in several sports. His talents earned him admission to the Bowman High School Athletic Hall of Fame. He later earned degrees from Asheville-Biltmore Junior College in Asheville, and Berea College in Berea, Kentucky, where he met the love of his life and wife of 60 years: Helen Yvonne McKinney of Hazard.
As a teacher, Phil educated thousands of students and imbued a love of reading and composition into the lives of so many that entered his classroom.
Outside his professional life, Phil was widely known as an avid dry-fly fisherman. There are likely very few streams on Grandfather Mountain or Roan Mountain in which Phil did not catch and release countless rainbow, brown, or speckled trout.
Phil was a member of Berry Chapel Baptist Church in Spruce Pine, for more than 50 years. Among his other accomplishments, he served as chair of the Mitchell County Board of Commissioners from 1996 to 2000, and was commissioned as a Kentucky Colonel by Governor Paul E. Patton of Kentucky.
A memorial service will be held for Phil at Mitchell High School on Saturday, June 29 at 2 p.m.