Michael Joseph Phillips

March 14, 1957 - March 7, 2021

Michael Joseph Phillips, age 63, returned to his heavenly home March 7, 2021 after a valiant battle with a long and merciless illness. He is survived by his loving family: Mary, Ryan, Micaela and Marissa. He was the beloved son of Rosemary and the late Kenneth L Phillips. He is also survived by his siblings Kenneth Phillips, MD (Lee), Bruce Phillips (Sharon), Kathleen Indiano Schmidt (Norman Schmidt and the late Vincent Indiano); his parents-in-law: Frank and Betty Dunnigan; his brothers’ in law: Steve Dunnigan (Mary Jane), Bill Dunnigan (Erin), Bob Dunnigan (Carol), and Joe Dunnigan (Karen). He is also survived by many nieces and nephews whom he truly adored: Jonathan Phillips, Carrie Phillips, Elisabeth Scheaf (Dan and daughter Margaret), Jessica Levy (Rob and Avery Rose), Daniel Phillips (Paige), Lindsay Phillips, Brooke Wright (Roman), Vincent Indiano, Kenneth Indiano USAF, Michael Dunnigan (Samantha and daughter Kristen), Amy Pruzan (Keith and children Charlotte and Grayson), Laura Raesz (G.W.) Stephen Dunnigan, Savannah Cox, David Dunnigan (Candace and children Patryk, CJ, and Declan), Kevin Dunnigan (Stephanie and children Brayden and Kellen), Christina Ellis (Fred and son Trey), Lauren Dunnigan, Megan Proudfoot (Ryan), and Brooke McAtee (Connor and baby McAtee) Michael was preceded in death by his father, Kenneth Phillips, his brother-in law - Vincent Indiano, his grandparents - Clyde and Ethel Phillips and Guy and Elianora Molinaro Michael graduated from Miami University in Oxford, OH with a BA in Physics and a BA in Mathematics and Statistics and went on to earn his Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. He had a long and successful engineering career which began at NCR Microelectronics in Miamisburg, OH. He eventually made his way to Texas, working several years for Mostek,SGS-Thomson in Carrollton as a Device Design and Integration Engineer. From there he began a career that spanned approximately 30 years at Motorola/Freescale/NXP in Austin, TX where he met his wife, Mary Dunnigan Phillips. Michael and Mary worked together at Motorola for approximately 20 years where they shared many wonderful memories with their fellow co-workers. Michael spent about 10 years in FSRAM Reliability, 5 of which he served as the Director of the MMPD/Fast Static RAM Division of R&QA. He went on to lead C/AIM (Communication, Access and Infrastructure Memories) as the Operations Manager and then became the Director of Product Engineering for the Network Memories Operation. Michael finished his career at NXP as the Operations Manager for NMO and then a Product Manager for the Digital Networking Business Unit prior to transitioning to Samsung’s Quality & Reliability Department. Michael’s greatest joy was bringing his family to church on Sunday and sharing with them the love of our Saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ. He grew up in the First Assembly of God Church in Lyndhurst, Ohio, where he made many life-long friends. Once his children were born, from the very beginning, he dedicated his children to God and proudly watched as each was baptized at Hyde Park Baptist Church where they attended services and Sunday school for many years. Michael enjoyed the adult Sunday school classes, volunteering in the nursery, and the fellowship of his many friends at Hyde Park and later at the First Church of God in Austin. As his children became older, he brought his family to the Fellowship Round Rock where he felt at home surrounded by so many loving friends from the neighborhood. Michael had many talents including being a gifted and talented musician. While living in Carrolton, he was a member of The Vocal Majority, a volunteer 100+ voice male a cappella chorus known for its mastery of technically demanding close harmony. One of his greatest memories was signing alongside the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He sang in many high school musicals, including the Music Man, and when Larry Gatlin came to town for the Broadway version in 2000, he was eagerly purchasing tickets while awaiting the arrival of his third child, Marissa. Michael played the trombone in high school and often reminisced of the time he played alongside the Canadian jazz trumpeter, Maynard Ferguson, during a high school musical event. The music of Maynard frequently brought great comfort to Michael during his final days. Michael was a die-hard Cleveland Browns / Cavs / Indians fan and loved sharing his teams with his son, Ryan. He held season tickets to the Indians’ games for many years, despite living in Texas and enjoyed watching the Browns games with the local chapter of the Browns’ Backer group. He could cite statistics from any game any year with an infallible memory and often enjoyed reliving these experiences with his family and friends. His greatest joy in sports, however, was watching Ryan as he excelled in all of them, especially in basketball and baseball. He loved the many years of watching his games and tournaments and met many wonderful friends along the way. He also cherished his talented daughters, Micaela and Marissa, who brought music back into his life through their joy of dance. He enjoyed watching their many performances and was so proud when they both earned spots on the Aggie Dance Team. Michael was blessed to have many caregivers over the last few years, and his family would like to especially thank Joe Dunnigan, Renee Higgs, Leah Chapman, and Frank & Betty Dunnigan who spent countless hours helping with his care over the last few years. Most of all they would like to thank their forever friend and angel on earth, Tish Bailey, who was his faithful caregiver for the last 3 years and never failed to spread her kindness and joy when attending to Michael’s and his family’s needs. We would also like to thank Jill Tew for the many meals that fed our family during times of need, Ajay Patel who was always there when asked for help, no matter the need, Michael’s doctor, Dr.Jaron Winston, MD who treated Michael with such compassion and dignity as he fought the unforgiving disease of Lewy Body Dementia, Monte Tomasino and Pastor Donald Patterson– who prayed with Michael and his family often in his final days, and all of the amazing hospice team members who provided guidance and support for our family as we navigated through Michael’s final days. Finally, we would like to thank the staff at Maravilla at the Domain who worked tirelessly to ensure that Michael was always treated with love, respect and dignity during his stay there. Their compassion and support of our family will never be forgotten. Most of all, we would like to thank the many family members and friends who supported us and lifted us all in prayer as we walked beside Michael during this long journey. Michael is at Home now, out of pain and wrapped in the loving arms of Jesus Christ. We will all rejoice with him one day at our reunion in Heaven.