Derusha Darden Phillips

A memorial service for Derusha will be held Saturday, October 29, 2022, at 1:00 PM at Twin Lakes Chapel, 3802 Wade Coble Dr., Burlington, NC 27215.

Derusha Darden Phillips, 95, died peacefully with family by her side at Beacon Place Hospice in Greensboro, NC on October 19th, 2022. A memorial service and celebration of life is planned for October 29th from 1 to 3 pm at the Twins Lake Chapel at 3802 Wade Coble Drive, in Burlington, NC.

Derusha was born on February 22, 1927, in the rural community of Mapleton in Hertford County to Mary Gertrude Maddrey and Junius Hugh Darden. The name Derusha is an old family name that dates back to early 19th century. Derusha was named after her grandmother Martha Derusha Long who was also named after her grandmother Derusha Peebles Stancell born in 1808.

While her parents were not wealthy, Derusha never lacked for having her needs met. Much of the food on the table came from the small family farm her father owned and all her clothes were made by her mother who was an expert seamstress.

Derusha was born in the family’s small wood framed house which lacked indoor plumbing and electricity. Every meal was cooked on a wood burning stove which was also used to boil water for sponge baths. Electricity would be added later to the house. Derusha would say if she ever got married, one of the conditions would be to live in a house with central heat and air!

In the time she grew up, few people went to college. But education was always a priority for Derusha and her family. Her mother was a 1905 graduate from Chowan College and her sister, June Darden Ward, graduated from Women’s College (UNCG) in 1936. Derusha knew she needed schooling beyond Murfreesboro High School. She followed in her sister’s footsteps to UNCG and graduated in 1948 with a degree in education.

Derusha enjoyed a rewarding 30-year teaching career in early childhood education in the Winston Salem and Charlotte Mecklenburg school systems. She undoubtedly impacted the lives of hundreds of students from all backgrounds. One anecdote shared with us after her passing was from the parent of a former first grade student, who credits Derusha with starting her son on the path of academic success that led to his graduating from Harvard law school.

Derusha met her future husband, John Walter Phillips, a fellow teacher at Wiley Elementary School in Winston Salem and they married in 1952. Derusha remembered her first date where John took her to one of the finest steakhouses in town. She, being so overcome with nervousness, couldn’t eat.

In the Winston Salem years, Derusha and John started their family with Nancy born in 1953 and four years after that, their son, Bob. They bought their first house in a newly developed neighborhood and joined Ardmore Methodist Church where they formed friendships with other families. Their house had a large backyard where Derusha and John would encourage their kids to spend time outside and explore nature. They cherished their evening family walks at dusk. They became members of Sanderstead pool where Derusha and Nancy learned how to swim at the same time. John and baby Bob encouraged them as they took the pool’s two-lap swim test.

In 1962, Derusha and John along with their young children moved to Charlotte where John accepted a job as assistant superintendent with the newly consolidated Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools. Derusha taught in more than a half dozen elementary schools in Charlotte volunteering to teach in one of the traditional Black schools before the Charlotte Mecklenburg school system fully integrated. From that experience, she often said she learned more from those school children during that year than any other teaching experience.

During the Charlotte years, Derusha juggled raising her two children, sharing the care of her aging mother with her sister, teaching full-time, and supporting John in his demanding job during the challenging years as the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School system embarked on court ordered integration. As a retreat from the pressures of work, they purchased their beloved A-frame in the NC Mountains near Blowing Rock. The house off the parkway afforded her a place to attend summer school at Appalachian State University to earn her Master’s Degree in Education in 1970. Throughout their lives Laurel Hill was a special place of respite.

In 1980, John and Derusha began retirement. Together they set about restoring John’s boyhood home, a 19th century farmhouse on 50 acres in Catawba County. They called it Oak Grove. In this phase of life, Derusha enjoyed planting beautiful flower gardens on the property, canning homegrown vegetables and rediscovering the art of needlecraft which she had learned from her mother as a child. Her projects included needlepointing, knitting and craft projects. She made many keepsakes for her family and friends such as our Christmas vests, baby hats and blankets. It was during their time living on the farm that they became grandparents and acquired the beloved names of Sugar and Gran Gran. Summers at Oak Grove were special for their two oldest grandchildren, Melissa and Robert, as they attended Sugar and Gran camp.

Faith was always an important part of Derusha’s life, raised a southern Baptist but becoming an active Methodist by way of marriage to John. In Catawba County, Derusha became very active in John’s childhood house of worship, Wesley Chapel United Methodist church. Derusha never forced religion on her family but rather led by example.

In 1994, Derusha and John shifted to the big city of Raleigh, as far East as John would agree to go. During those years they were a vital part in the lives of their two youngest grandchildren, Jake and Clare, and were active members of Edenton Street United Methodist Church. Away from the chores of gardening and upkeep of the farmhouse, Derusha and John had more freedom to spend time sightseeing overseas, traveling to John’s WWII reunions and summering in the NC mountains.

Derusha and John chose to move to the Twin Lakes Retirement Community in Burlington at a young enough age to immerse themselves in the activities and form new friendships. Nancy and Bob recall they never saw them argue, but when made aware of this, Derusha quipped, “a couple that doesn’t argue is a couple where one partner is deaf and the other mute”. Derusha lost John in 2010, but her dozen years to follow were filled as an active member of Front Street United Methodist Church, visiting neighbors in healthcare at Twin Lakes Community, reading, and continuing with her skill of handwork. A highlight was fulfilling a lifelong dream of traveling to the Holy Land with her children. At age 87 she climbed countless steps in Old Jerusalem, waded into the River Jordan, floated in the Dead Sea and gazed out over the Sea of Galilee.

She was a beloved mother to Nancy Hogewood of Greensboro (the late Mike Hogewood) and Bob Phillips of Raleigh (Kathy). She had immense pride in seeing her four grandchildren become adults - Melissa Hogewood Garrison (David) and Robert Hogewood -both of Greensboro, Jake Phillips of Washington, D.C. and Clare Phillips of Charlotte. She was blessed with love for her three great grandchildren, Mackenzie, Darden and Pippa Garrison - all of Greensboro.

During her long and remarkable life, Derusha was a loving daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, dedicated teacher, and faithful friend. Her engaging personality, graceful charm and of course her rich southern accent is what we will all remember.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to:

Mary June Darden Ward Scholarship at UNCG

PO BOX 26170

Greensboro, NC 27402

Wesley Chapel United Methodist Church

2613 Wesley Chapel Road

Newton, NC. 28658

Front Street United Methodist Church

PO BOX 2597

Burlington, NC. 27216

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.haneslineberryfhnorthelm.com for the Phillips family.