Tuesday, July 25, 2023
My childhood are completely entwined with the Phillips family. Birthdays, camping, Christmas Eve, New Year's Day, or just visiting on a Friday night. There was always so much laughter. Clayton was always there, trying to control the boys and laughing with everyone. Two memories stand out (along with his odd love for tomato aspic).
The first involves the inevitable group photo, taken at everyone's birthday. The light he used was brighter than the sun! You could see the light well before he reached the living room. As a result, the group photos taken by him showed a lot of squinting children.
I also remember being rather shocked by his reaction to my pet flying squirrel. He and the boys always hunted. But when the Phillips family came to visit and the boys wanted to see it, I took the squirrel out of his cage. The critter immediately ran for Clayton, who came flying out of easy chair yelling and screaming for it to get away. He was not happy at all of us laughing at him. I caught the squirrel when Clayton started trying to stomp on him, and the silly squirrel was not running away--it was trying to jump back on him!
My prayers are with all of you, and it seems so odd to think of him being gone. He was a wonderful father and a truly good man.
Christ's blessings and comfort to the entire family.
Love,
Rita
