Louise (Weezie) Bancroft Brabner Phillips was born in Mobile, Alabama on January 23, 1947 and returned to her heavenly home on March 11, 2022. She was preceded in death by her father, William Henry Bancroft, her mother, Louise Bancroft Hawkins, and stepfather Arthur Ray Hawkins She is survived by her sister, Linda Bancroft Weinacker and Linda’s husband, Tom Weinacker, nephew Thomas Bancroft Weinacker and his wife, Ashley Bosarge Weinacker, niece Emily Louise Weinacker, nephew Jonathan Nicolas Weinacker and his wife, Sonja Scheffler Weinacker, nephew Bray Bancroft Weinacker, niece Zophia Dior Weinacker, cousins Cheryl “Sherry” Waldron, Marian Mathis, Kitty Clark, Ann Wilborn, Jean “Tootsie” Flynt, Polly Phillps, Pam Pate, Janie Pate, Patti Millette, Laura Louise Martin, Marcia “Marty” Martin, Robert Payne, stepsister Jille Votaw Hawkins, stepbrother Michael Hawkins and nephew Troy Hawkins.
A graduate of Murphy High School in 1964, Weezie was also a member of the Alpha Delta Kappa sorority. Weezie attended art school in Georgia before returning to Mobile, where she was a member of Phi Mu sorority and earned an art degree from the University of South Alabama. She worked at her family’s engraving business, Bancroft Engraving and Specialties in Mobile, while continuing to pursue a lifelong career as an accomplished artist. She traveled extensively abroad to paint in Paris, Quatemala and Myanmar in Southeast Asia, studying under different artists, always perfecting her talent in various styles and medians. She spent much of her adult life in Fairhope, Alabama as a well-known and respected artist, active in the fine arts community. She was a founding member of the Cathedral Square Gallery of Art in LoDa and spearheaded the Figure Drawing Artists Group at the Scottish Rite Temple in Downtown Mobile. She was a member of the Eastern Shore Art Centre in Fairhope. Weezie was instrumental in teaching and participating in groups which focused on her love of plein air painting, both at her homes on the Emerald Coast of Florida and Fairhope.
She loved animals and was a volunteer with the Baldwin County Humane Society for many years, as well as an active member in her church, participating in various Bible studies.
A memorial for Weezie will be held on Wednesday, March 16, 2022 at Eastern Shore Presbyterian Church on Highway 98 in Fairhope at 12 noon, followed by a graveside service at 2pm at Pine Crest Cemetery in Mobile. Afterwards, a Celebration of Life reception will be held at 3100 Marcia Drive, Mobile, Alabama.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the American Heart Association.
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