Mary Alice Phillips

Mrs. Mary Alice Phillips, age 90, of Dalton, Georgia, passed away peacefully on Sunday, April 27, 2025, with her daughter lovingly by her side.

Born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Mobile, Alabama, Mary Alice was the daughter of Fred Allen Robeson and Eleanor Elizabeth Robeson. She graduated from Murphy High School in Mobile and attended the University of Montevallo before beginning a career in bookkeeping and banking - but her greatest calling was always caring for her family.

On September 15, 1953, she married the love of her life, Glenn Allen Phillips. Together, they shared 59 wonderful years of marriage, building a life full of love, faith, and family across Atlanta, Orlando, and eventually Dalton, Georgia, where Mary Alice spent the last 54 years.

Mary Alice was a woman of quiet strength, deep kindness, and endless energy. A faithful member of First Baptist Church of Dalton for over four decades, she sang in the choir, served as a library assistant, and filled the halls with her warm spirit. She was also active in the community through Silver Sneakers, the Dalton Senior Center, and the Carpet Squares of Dalton, where she made lifelong friends and countless memories.

She lived each day with a spirit of joy and adventure. Mary Alice loved taking long walks - a daily habit for more than 44 years - and found great joy in playing cards and games with family and friends. She especially cherished traveling, from peaceful mountain getaways to beach vacations and trips to Disney World, always delighting in simple, beautiful moments with the people she loved most. Her happiest times were those spent side by side with her children and grandchildren, gathered around the card table, creating a lifetime of memories filled with laughter and love.

She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Glenn Allen Phillips, who passed away on August 9, 2012; her parents, Fred Allen Robeson and Eleanor Elizabeth Robeson; and her sister, Martha Clare Meier.

Mary Alice’s legacy lives on in her brother, Dr. James (Caralie) Robeson; her sister, Betsy (Richard) Kaiser; her son, Paul Allen (Claudia) Phillips; her daughter, Sylvia Ann (Curtis) Freeman; and her grandchildren, Seth Allen Freeman, Summer Grace (Jacob Allison) Freeman, Hannah Michele Phillips, and Paul Allen Phillips II. She was also blessed with a great-granddaughter, Georgia Grace Allison, born shortly before her passing - a new generation touched by her enduring love.

Visitation will be held on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, from 12:00 noon to 2:00 P.M. at First Baptist Church of Dalton, followed by the funeral service at 2:00 P.M. in the church chapel.

A graveside service will be conducted at a later date at Pinecrest Cemetery in Mobile, Alabama. Gentlemen serving as pallbearers are Mr. Paul Phillips, Mr. Paul Allen Phillips, Mr. Curtis Freeman, Mr. Seth Freeman, and Mr. Jacob Allison.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to the Alzheimer’s Association or the American Cancer Society in Mary Alice’s memory - or that you honor her by taking a walk, singing a favorite hymn, sharing a laugh around a card table, or cherishing a small adventure with loved ones, just as she did so beautifully throughout her life.

Condolences and messages of sympathy for Mary Alice's family may be expressed through Love Funeral Home's online register book.