Eliza Preston Cummings Phillips, 95, a longtime resident ofBrookhaven, died peacefully at her home on Thursday, July 12,2007.

Visitation is Sunday, July 15, from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. atBrookhaven Funeral Home on Natchez Drive.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, July 16, atFirst Presbyterian Church, South Jackson and Chickasaw Streets, inBrookhaven. Pastor Edwin Wolff will officiate. Internment will beat Rosehill Cemetery in Brookhaven.

Mrs. Phillips, a native of Abingdon, Va., graduated in 1932 fromDuke University and moved to Brookhaven in 1934 as the young brideof Robert Pearce Phillips, a practicing attorney.

She was an active member for over 70 years of the FirstPresbyterian Church of Brookhaven where she founded the churchkindergarten, taught Sunday school, and served as an elder. Mrs.Phillips was a Girl Scout leader for all four of her daughters’troops and mentored other young mothers in scouting leadership. Shewas a founder of the Brookhaven Junior Auxiliary, a member of theDaughters of the American Revolution, Climbers Club, and ColonialDames, and was a regional representative for Camp DeSoto, Mentone,Ala. Her home was the setting for annual Easter egg hunts, and thelighting of her giant cedar Christmas tree was much anticipated bythe community.

Mrs. Phillips is survived by her daughters, Frances Potts, ofBurnsville, Minn., Mary Eliza (LiLi) Kirkpatrick, of Denver, Colo.,Jenny Godwin, of New Bern, N.C., and Cynthia Lauderdale, ofPhiladelphia; 11 grandchildren, Catherine Potts, Rebecca PottsMurphy, Mary Anne Potts, Ryan Kirkpatrick, Kathryn Kirkpatrick,Gabriel Godwin, Chloe Godwin, Andrew Godwin, David Lauderdale,Sarah Lauderdale, and Eliza Lauderdale; and threegreat-grandchildren, Emma Godwin, Avery Godwin, and OliviaLauderdale. Evelyn Stewart provided care for Mrs. Phillips in herlast years.

She was preceded in death by her daughter, Eliza CummingsPhillips; her husband, Robert Pearce Phillips, and her sisters,Mary Willett and Frances Moore.

Mrs. Phillips will always be remembered for her deep and abidingfaith, her warm hospitality, and her steadfast love.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the FirstPresbyterian Church of Brookhaven, P. O. Box 346, Brookhaven, MS39602, or to Middle Mississippi Girl Scouts, 214 West Court St.,Brookhaven, MS 39601.