Joy Marie (Settle) Phillips

August 10, 1930, to October 14, 2023, Age 93
Joy was born on August 10, 1930, in Howard County MO, near Fayette, MO, the daughter of Earl and Hazel (Pemberton) Settle.  The third of five siblings and the oldest of three daughters, Joy grew up during the depression and World War II on the family farm near Fayette.

After graduating from high school in 1948, Joy started college in the fall at Central Methodist College (CMC).  She met Admiral (Ad) Noah Phillips of Doniphan, MO, who was also attending CMC on the GI bill.  A year later, they married on June 12, 1949, at what was then the Ashland Christian Church, just over the hill from the family farm.
After Ad graduated from CMC in 1950, they moved frequently due to Ad’s military service as a chaplain in the Air Force, then later Ad’s service as a Methodist minister in the Missouri West Conference.  Towns include Dallas, TX where son David was born; Granger, MO; Long Island, NY; El Paso, TX where son Richard (Dick) was born; back to the family farm in Fayette (while Ad served in Korea); Presque Isle, ME where daughter Joy was born; Kidder, MO; Grant City, MO where son Lee was born; Stewartsville, MO where son Paul was born; El Dorado Springs, MO; St Joseph, MO; Trenton, MO; and Salisbury, MO.

Joy was a devoted mother and grandmother, a classic “mama-bear,” showing her love for family by always protecting, sacrificing and advocating for her children.  To help financially support the family, she finished her undergraduate degree and master’s degree while teaching and raising a family in St Joseph and Trenton.  In Salisbury, Joy and Ad opened their home to foster children and foreign exchange students.  Also while in Salisbury, grandchildren started arriving, and Joy was an active and devoted grandparent.  She showered her grandchildren with fun times and love, helping them learn how to study, cook and quilt.  She was always ready to play a game and often carried a game in her purse.  She would help with babysitting and sewing projects and made many items for her kids and grandkids: a “quiet” book; Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls; suits; dresses; christening dress; M C Hammer pants; curtains galore; etc.  She was an excellent cook; family favorites were homemade bread and biscotti, hot buttered biscuits and rhubarb or gooseberries, and especially her homemade crescent rolls.  Several of the grandchildren learned to make them with her.

Joy learned many skills including needlecraft, knitting and quilting, and she enjoyed the friendship of friends who shared her passion.  She particularly enjoyed Hardanger embroidery, an intricate style of Norwegian needlework.  She made beautiful heirloom Hardanger wedding samplers and birth samplers for her children and grandchildren.  Joy was also an excellent quilter; one of her pride quilts was “an impossible 30-year quilt” with over 2200 pieces.  A fond memory for family members and friends is when they would receive a crocheted snowflake from Joy in the mail every Christmas.

After Ad died in 1984, Joy continued to teach in Salisbury for several years, retiring in 1995.  In 2005, she moved to Independence, MO, then in 2013 to an independent living villa at The Fremont Senior Living in Springfield to be closer to family.  Joy was a member of Wesley UMC and P.E.O., and enjoyed the friendship of those wherever she lived.
During retirement, Joy also enjoyed visiting most of the national parks in the US and Canada with family.  She especially loved birding and hiking.  In 1993, she started working summers at the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park, CO and continued working summers for 15 years, mostly in the library.  She loved hosting family and friends, guiding them around the Y, Estes, the Rocky Mountain National Park and points beyond.

Joy is survived by her sister Leanah Haugen; by sister-in-law Catherine Settle (Phil); by son David (Linda) and their children, Russ (Marsha), Anna (Brian) and Scott (Emily); by daughter Joy (Claudio) and her children Elizabeth (Kevin), Adam (Lauren) and Wes (Lua); by son Lee and his child Drew; by Paul (Annita) and their children Spencer (Hannah), and Noah (Olivia); and by many great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.  Joy was preceded in death by her parents Earl and Hazel; her husband Ad; her brothers Jim and Phil; her sister Earline; and her son Dick.

Funeral service will be at 9am Saturday, November 25, 2023, at Wesley UMC in Springfield, MO.  All are invited to a reception following the service.  A graveside service will be held at 3:30pm at Ashland Cemetery near Fayette, with a gathering afterwards near Columbia, MO.  All family and friends are invited to attend.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be given to Convoy of Hope or Wesley UMC.

Condolences may be shared at www.carryager.com.

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