Franklyn D Phillips

FRANKLYN D PHILLIPS

Franklyn D Phillips was born in Lehi, Utah on January 19, 1934 to Annie Drue Scott and William Chester Phillips.  He was their 8th, and last child, the baby of the family.

He died Sept. 21 in his sleep at his home in Reedley, CA.

As Frank was growing up, his family lived at various places in Utah, Nevada and California.  His father was a rancher and taught Frank how to work by giving him various choirs on the farm. Under his father’s direction Frank learned how to do several different jobs, which served him well throughout his life. 

Even though he was shy when he was young, Frank had many friends.  He remembered a good friend he had in junior high school who belonged to the Mormon Church.  Even though this friend occasionally worked on Sundays and couldn’t always attend church, he always bore a strong testimony of the truthfulness of the doctrines and later served a full time mission.  All of this made an impression on Frank. 

Frank grew up attending the Methodist Church along with his mother and other members of his family.  He had a great love and respect for his mother who taught him to use clean language and develop a thirst for education.  His grandfather Scott, as well as many other ancestors, had been Methodist ministers, thus religion flowed through his veins.  Again, the training from his family prepared him for things that were to come later in life.

He graduated from Jordan High School in Midvale, Utah. After graduation he worked for a short time at Hill Air Force Base paying his way to the University of Utah. Being sure that he would be drafted into the Korean conflict, he enlisted in the Navy.  He trained in the electronics field first at San Diego and then at Treasure Island in San Francisco.  After training, his duties in the Navy stretched across the Pacific and took  him from Treasure Island to Japan.  Most of his work was on an electronic supply ship. The naval training came in very handy later in life as he worked to put himself through more college courses.

During his Navy years, he had some very interesting experiences and met many people.  Though most of the guys that he met were good hard working souls, Frank also saw much of the darker side of some he met.  He became disillusioned with these bad habits, the filthy language, drinking, smoking and chasing after girls.  He remembered his Mormon childhood friend and decided to look into just what it was that made that young man so different.

During his search, one day in San Francisco he passed a bookstore and decided to go in and look around.  He found a copy of the Book of Mormon and bought it.  He took the blue book back to his Treasure Island Base and read chapters while standing in chow lines, at night or any other time he could find without getting himself into trouble.  He soon began attending church in San Francisco and continued to study.  He became such a fixture in the ward that when he asked to be baptized, some of the people couldn’t believe that he wasn’t already a member.

His one fear of joining the church was the thought of what changing churches would do to his mother.  He loved her very much and did not want to hurt her.  He wrote her a most touching letter (which she kept the rest of her life) telling her of his love and respect, but also telling her he had found for himself the truthfulness of the teachings in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and he had decided to be baptized.   He knew this would be a heartache for her even though two of her older children had joined many years before.  Frank was her baby and his desire to join another church would have a profound effect upon her.  Nonetheless she didn’t discourage him and told him he was old enough to choose for himself.  No matter what religious course he took she would support him in his choice.  It should be noted that years later, when she went to live with her daughter, Betty, in Utah, she listened to the lessons the home teachers taught.  Frank was surprised one evening when he received a call from the home teacher asking him if he could come to S.L. that weekend to baptize his mother.  Of course he could do that.  A year later he went to Utah to accompany his Mom and other family members to the Salt Lake temple where she received her temple blessings and did work for his father.  The three children were also able to be sealed to their parents. 

Anyway, on the day Frank was to be baptized, he didn’t show up for the ceremony, leaving a puzzled expression on many friends’ faces.  No one knew that he was in the Navy hospital with a good case of mumps and had no way of informing those waiting at the church of his predicament.  He finally made his date a few weeks later and vowed to serve to the best of his ability from that time on.

From the time Frank joined the church, he developed a deep testimony of the teachings of the Savior and the prophets.  He always tried to live as they taught.  He was human and sometimes felt he didn’t make the grade, but always kept trying and did accomplish many great things.  Just days before his death he remarked to Geneva as they listened to a BYU address on parenting, “Why didn’t I know all these things while I was raising my children?”  He felt he entered parenthood knowing so little and he soon found that a new child in the family didn’t include an instruction book.  The scriptures were a good guide and helped tremendously, but sometimes the speakers on BYU seemed to have knowledge he felt he lacked. We all feel that way.  Little did he know that we, his children, used him as our guide, and supplemented his teachings with information from those at BYU. 

When Frank returned from Japan and was stationed in the Bay Area, he was granted a two-week furlough. Two weeks was a lot of time, thus he hitch-hiked back to Utah to visit family.  While there he renewed his friendship with Geneva who had been widowed shortly before her oldest son was born.  This rekindled friendship led to Frank making a trip to Utah every month to see her.  He always used his 4-day pass to make the trip and typically hitchhiked there and back.

Geneva had remembered Frank as a shy teenager who didn’t dance.  When he commenced to court her, she said she wouldn’t marry him if he couldn’t dance (half teasing).  He didn’t reply, but asked her on a date one evening and took her to a dance.  Was she surprised!  She says it probably sealed the deal for her although they weren’t able to dance much because she was always pregnant. Sometimes you just can’t have everything the way you want in life.  After much friendly persuasion and wooing, he convinced her that he would love to take care of her and 1-1/2 year old Steven, and they were married June 3, 1955. 

Their first year of blissful matrimony was spent in San Francisco while Frank completed his Navy tour of duty.  Dennis was born during the spring.  Frank and Geneva will always have fond memories of the City by the Bay. 

Geneva had always dreamed of having a large family and discussed this with Frank before their marriage.  He said that a large family was okay with him, that 4 or 5 children would be a good-sized family.  After much discussion the two compromised and eventually had 10 children (and Frank was a math teacher, go figure). 

In August, after Frank was discharged from the Navy, the family returned to Utah where he attended school at BYU.  Those were pleasant years despite the fact that Geneva always seemed to be in a constant state of morning sickness.  By the time Frank graduated, the family had grown by three more children, two boys and, finally, a baby girl.  The children were a delight to Frank, Geneva and to Geneva’s father as he had always longed for a son (as he had five daughters).  Though boys were always welcomed into his family, Frank was also very proud of the girls. Although life was sometimes overwhelming, trying to keep food on the table, shoes on small feet, etc., it was good and Frank took great joy in his family and felt a deep love for each and every one of his children. 

One of the great experiences in Frank’s life was his full-time mission.  He sometimes was a bit envious of his sons and grandchildren as they received their calls and left for lands far and near.  When the decision was made that now was a good time for Geneva and him to go, he bubbled over with enthusiasm.  He remembered returned missionaries he had met while serving in the Navy who taught him more about the gospel, taught him to dance (one of the sailors had been a dance instructor in his ward back in Idaho) and simply had the Spirit in abundance.

He returned from his mission with a problem with his eyes, leaving him blind in one eye and some peripheral vision in the other eye.  Over the next 4 years, his sight made slight improvement but he missed driving, reading and other things he had always done for himself.  As was always his style, he accepted the situation without much complaint as he knew he was in the Lord’s hands regardless of what curves life threw his way.  He had a cheerful attitude and tried to do whatever he could.  His hearing loss also presented a problem, but he worked hard to do the best he could with his handicaps.   He especially missed his ability to do genealogy research but was happy he could still participate in the temple ordinance work.  His 2nd full-time mission call came in an unexpected way to his family, but they understand he won’t be standing idle on the other side of the veil.  We know he can now both see and hear perfectly and that there will be much work for him to do where his spirit resides.

Geneva once penned these lines:

                             Two_Extended

 Yesterday there were two of us.

You picked up the pieces of my life

And turned darkness to sunshine again.

There was joy, learning, growing and

          Laughter shared.

Yesterday we were two.

Yesterday we grew in numbers.

Little children came to join we two

And brought their share of rain

          And sunshine from heaven.

There was joy, learning, growing and

          Laughter shared.

Yesterday we grew until we were 12.

Today we are many.

Grandchildren join the ranks,

And rain and sunshine abound in many

          Homes because of them.

There is joy, learning, growing and

          Laughter shared.

Today we are growing.

Tomorrow’s numbers are endless.

Children grow older – grandchildren too.

Sunshine and rain will always abound.

Joy, learning, growing, and

          Laughter still shared.

Tomorrow we two will extend

          To Infinity.

Grandchildren and now, great-grandchildren, have become the frosting on the cake.  There are now 51 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren in the family.  Future prospects are bright.   Frank always was interested in what each child was doing and delighted in their accomplishments, of which there were many.  Frank always wanted to stay in tune with the action.  There would never be much time elapsed after one phone call before Frank was coaxing Geneva to call a family member and see how they were doing.  Sometimes he even got brave enough to dial the numbers himself and then struggle to hear the conversation.

Even though the phone was great for staying in touch, Frank was happiest when he was personally surrounded by family.  A family reunion held in Oregon in June of 2004, in conjunction with a grandson’s wedding, was a joy.  Geneva and Frank often talked about what a blessing it was to sit around the campfire with 59 members of their immediate family. What joy it is to be someway responsible for all of them being there.  It made them feel just a bit of the joy our Father in Heaven must feel as we return to him.

Frank, who loved attending the temple, remembered a poster he once saw in the L.A. temple that says, “Heavenly Father is planning a big family reunion and we’ll be there”.

Frank has taken another step forward now.  He is at the family reunion on the other side of the veil.  He is now probably one of the children that is sitting around a campfire where his ancestors are now saying, “Look at what we have started!  Isn’t our posterity great?”. 

As Frank always had a great love for the gospel, we, his family, feel certain he will still influence us from the other side of the veil, when he has a chance.  We are sure that Heavenly Father has plenty of work for him to do and that he is not standing idly by.  We are sure that he is testing out his renewed eyesight and hearing!  What a blessing!  As he renews acquaintances with those who have gone before, working in their behalf if needed, we shall work on this side of the veil to secure the ordinances needed for our ancestors.  We look forward to the larger “campfire” that will someday surely come.