I knew Bob 50 years ago in the idyllic neighborhood in Cincinnati where we grew up together.  I was very close to his sister, Kathy and the Phillips backyard and driveway were gathering places for many of the neighborhood kids.  We played many basketball and touch football games from morning until night.  
My brother, Tom McGreevy lives in Austin (Round Rock) with his family and he shared the sad news of Bob’s passing.
It sounds like he lived life to the fullest and was loved by many.
I am very sorry for your loss, Phillips family.  Condolences from the McGreevy family.
Marilyn 

Jeannie
Diane and I send our condolences to you and your family. "Sparky" certainly was that - a great reflection of a Great Savior.
I fondly recall our SRD friendship, his Daily Texan articles, his interview with Cosell, his stories, his laughter and his devotion to Christ.
So sorry to have the years and distance prevent a re-gathering over a CCB, but when we join him  at The Marriage Feast, there'll be time.
The Lord bless and keep you all -
John and Diane (Fratt) Morrison 
Winchester, Va

Grandpa, you've left a huge void in our hearts. I remember the first time I met you. You and grandma received me so lovingly that the nerves I had immediately left. I came you love you so much because I saw how you loved your family and obviously my Galilea. 
Dear Jeanne, I know your heart is sad now, like your children's and grandkids'. I also share your pain.

Perú.

It's possible I am one of the few female attorneys that absolutely loved Bob!  We worked for Ken Anderson during the infamous Michael Morton days..... he was an incredible mentor - teaching me valuable lessons in the true art of litigation - which he had an incredible handle on...  and yes, we had the same political philosophy... another reason we got along so well.  Love to his family.... Kimberly Dufour Gardner

Bob joined me in discipleship of our brothers in  Regeneration House. He was sensitive to the needs of men who where affected by the criminal justice system. we shared a love for the word of God and developed a bond as brothers in the Kingdom. I will miss him but i know he's rejoic.ing with the saints

I was fortunate to have been at Regents School of Austin as head girls' basketball coach from 2010-2013. To have Bob calling our games truly made it feel like the big time. He had a nickname for every player who ever started at Regents and his timeout music and starting lineup music was the stuff of legend. He was always so kind to me and my wife Candy, always showed me respect, and was on the mic for my final game as the head coach there in February 2013. 

He was a great Christian man and an example for generations of Regents student-athletes...and for this coach.  I'll always be thankful to have met Bob. Praying for the whole family.

Bob... what a great guy. I didn’t get to see him much since college but I kept up with him through FB. He could always make me laugh!! I’ll miss him . Sorry I couldn’t make the service because of Covid. But my Bro’ Pete said it was a great service. I’m praying for all involved.
Love,Phil

Bob always had such great nicknames for all the boys at baseball as they stepped up to the plate. I am sure he is enjoying seeing all the great players in heaven.

 Our prayers are with you for comfort as only the Lord can give and the  hope that is promised thru the resurrection  that  one day we will all be together. 
Much love, 
Ann, Brent and Adam Bennett 

No one fought harder for their clients than he did. No one was more unwilling to take no for an answer. A true fighter for what he believed. Must be something big brewing upstairs if the big guns are getting called up. 

Dear Phillips family,
I was sorry this morning to read of Bob's passing. 
Through his work as an attorney and mine as a newspaperman, our paths our often crossed at the courthouse, especially in the 1980s and 90s.

I also recall Bob -- a man of many interests -- used to write a political column for the Williamson County Sun.

In more recent years we corresponded via email. Usually when he was commenting on a newspaper column I had written. Bob's insights were both generous and thought provoking, even when we disagreed. I shall miss the friendship and the banter.

One of my favorite "Bobisms" -- and one I still quote to this day -- goes like this: "How do we know God is a baseball fan?"
"Because the Bible starts out, 'In the big inning ...'"

Please accept my condolences at Bob's passing from this life.
As it  says in Proverbs, "The memory of the righteous is a blessing."

Shalom,
Brad Stutzman
Georgetown

I am sorry for your loss.  I so enjoyed you all and being able to deliver some of the children so many years ago.  Bob is a great man, great Christian, great lawyer and great husband, father and grandfather.  I was blessed to have known him.  I thank the Lord for Bob and all of the Phillips.  I am thankful that he is in the presence of our Lord Jesus.
Blessings,
Tom Bohmfalk

Bob Phillips and I had a long and interesting friendship.  We were truly the odd couple.  Our political orientation and philosophy could not have been more different.  Yet never once did it stand in the way of our rewarding and warm relationship.  He liked to call me “Keefer.”

We met in the authoritarian regime of Ken Anderson and John Bradley, shortly after we discovered that Anderson had Bradley circulate a letter to the judges warning them about “bad” lawyers.  There were four names, and Bob and I were on the list.  As we got to know each other, he told me about how he became a born-again Christian.  I am certain he expected me to mock him.  But I did not.  It was authentic and positive and I respected it.  Our mutual respect for each other grew from that, but was cemented in my admiration of his complete devotion to his clients.  He was a bulldog, passionate and a great and theatrical lawyer who juries found captivating.  He exuded an air of supreme confidence, but in fact he was deeply insecure, always worrying about his course of action for his clients.  He was also his own fiercest critic.  He was always asking, “Am I doing the right thing?”  He had a great sense of humor that included self-deprecation.  He was a devoted husband and father and deeply involved in his church.  

My last communication with him was me giving him Robert Icenhauer-Ramirez’ cellphone number.  Bob had heard that Robert was ill and wanted to reach out to him.  They both died Friday.  Bob’s last cellphone communication, as he laid in the hospital, was to a Wilco judge begging that his client’s bond not be revoked.  Until the very end, he was serving others.

Bob was my friend of over 25 years. To say he loved his family would be a total understatement, for according to Bob, only superlative adjectives could describe his parents, his wife, and all of his offspring. We who were blessed to know him all remember him with only superlatives as well. He was a success professionally, but he would credit all of his successes personal and professional as being undeserved gifts from his loving Heavenly Father.  




OBITUARY

Robert M. Phillips, III

March 17, 1954 – March 5, 2021

Weed Corley Fish Funeral Homes and Cremation Services

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