Keith William Phillips

Reflections on Life as the Man, The Public Servant, The Husband, The Father, The Business Man and Coach The Early Years Keith William Phillips was born to Ruby Jewel Phillips and Stanley Arthur Phillips on March 21st, 1957, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and slipped away at approximately 8 p.m. on November 27th, 2020. Both of his parents and only brother, Kevin Arthur Phillips, preceded him in death. He accepted Christ at an early age and was a proud acolyte at St. Barnabus Episcopal Church in Germantown, Philadelphia. Keith’s leadership skills became apparent in his early years at Germantown High School where he served as the class president of the 108th graduating class during his senior year. The Man In 1975, Keith graduated at the top of his class and moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, to attend Saint Augustine’s University. One of his proudest achievements was becoming a member of the Gamma Omicron Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. in the spring of 1977. He was actively involved, serving as the Polemarch from fall 1977 to the spring of 1979. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in accounting and moved to San Angelo, Texas, where he was employed by a telecommunications company and introduced to A. L. Williams (now Primerica) by his supervisor. Shortly after, he moved to Atlanta and got a job with Cox Media Group’s Channel 2 news station as an accountant while waiting for his insurance license to be approved. Keith’s employment with the news station was short-lived; he soon began to build his A.L. Williams franchise. He had big, ambitious dreams and a burning desire to become financially independent, which would allow him to help his deserving mother. As the success of his business grew, he was able to retire his mother from her job and move her to Atlanta into a brand new home along with a brand new car. His generosity extended beyond his mother and to his in-laws, when he purchased them a retirement home as well. Providing for others is what he enjoyed the most. Keith was a prankster and sometimes couldn’t pass up an opportunity to play a practical joke on an unsuspecting friend or family member. In his humorous nature, he considered himself the sixth member of The Temptations. He loved life and was a foodie at heart. Although he met countless people in his lifetime, he always made everyone feel loved and special. If you were fortunate enough, he would even give you a nickname that would affectionately stick with you forever. The Husband Keith and Deborah’s love story started much like one of oil and water. He thought she was arrogant due to her job title as a manager at a telecommunications company, and she thought he needed a lot of help with his wardrobe. Their first interaction was when Deborah was invited to a business opportunity meeting that just so happened to be at Keith’s office. She would eventually decide to join the company to pursue financial independence through entrepreneurship. Deborah became Keith’s second Regional Vice President, and eventually, his wife. They eloped to Ocho Rios, Jamaica in 1987 and were married on his birthday, March 21st. Getting married on Keith’s birthday would ensure he never forgot his marital anniversary and eloping made it easier to get back to building their now family business. They both found a love that only some can dream of: a love to last a lifetime; and it did. They were affectionately described as two peas in a pod and spent as much time together as humanly possible. They were best friends and each other’s ride or die. Joined at the hip, they did everything together. During his later years, the two of them would frequent their lake house enjoying life and each other's company, from boat rides to home renovations. His love language was food. He enjoyed every cuisine imaginable and loved experimenting with his wife in the kitchen. Keith doted on his wife and drove her everywhere, as he would jokingly say “Driving Ms. Deborah”. He would constantly profess his love and adoration for her and often told her that if he preceded her in death, to know that being married to her made him the happiest man alive. He always said, “My number one job is to provide for my family and make sure you all are happy.” The Father Keith was a loving and devoted father and a true “girl dad.” His girls were everything to him. Jessica, Sara, Chelsea, and Mackenzie were his pride and joy, and their very existence made him excited about life and building a legacy. He would often tell the girls, “I’m 1000% in your corner” and “Everything I do, I do it for you!” One of his proudest accomplishments was putting each of his daughters through the university of their choice. He never wavered on his children’s college preferences: Jessica Ré (Stanford University); Sara (Howard University); Chelsea (Auburn University); and Mackenzie (The University of Miami). Fatherhood was something he did not take lightly, and he immensely enjoyed spoiling his girls. He even coined a phrase when they were younger, “that’s why your daddy works hard for you,” that has been used even up until the girls’ adult years. There was not a day that went by that he did not reach out or communicate with his daughters. His job was to make sure they had everything they needed to position themselves for success and to provide support whenever needed. He enjoyed bragging on his girls to anyone that would listen. The girls never took it for granted; they were the luckiest girls alive with the best Dad of all time. The Business Man and Primerica Coach Keith joined A.L. Williams, a financial services startup company, in March 1980. He became a Regional Vice President in June 1983 and quickly accomplished many milestones along the way, including becoming a member of Primerica’s prestigious Wall of Fame in 1995 and ultimately becoming a Senior National Sales Director in April 2018. He and Deborah were recognized for their career success as MVPs at the International Primerica Convention in 2019. In November 2020, he received his 9th diamond, just one milestone away from “The Ruby”. Keith was a mentor and a coach to many entrepreneurs across the country. He found his life’s purpose in serving others through education about life insurance, investments, and financial planning. With a passion for financial literacy in the black community, he became a charter member of the African-American Leadership Council and served on the Executive Committee as Treasurer since its inception. He found financial independence through Primerica and made it his life’s mission to share the opportunity and possibilities with as many people he could reach. Financial services were his passion and purpose in life! Every morning he would hit the floor around 4:30 a.m. ready to get his day started. He was excited about the men and women he had been blessed to be in business with. Keith had a wonderful group of Vice Presidents that he supported, mentored, and trained on a daily basis. He also spent time training and developing even the newest entrepreneurs in his organization and encouraged them on the journey towards financial freedom. He was very influential with people and he motivated them to want a better life for their families. Over the years, Keith developed a reputation for reliability, professionalism, and integrity among his clients. Additionally, even though he and his wife were in love, they were always able to maintain a great partnership in business. The pinnacle of his success was having his wife and daughters carry on his legacy. The Public Servant Community involvement was important to Keith. In 1988, he helped to capitalize the first black-owned bank in Lithonia, Georgia, First Southern Bank, as one of the founding Board of Directors. In 1997, the bank subsequently merged with Citizen’s Trust Bank, one of the largest black-owned financial institutions in the United States. In 1981, Keith was one of the founding charter members of the College Park Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. Keith also served as a Board Member of the Greater Atlanta Community Foundation for several years and a silver-tier sponsor for the Arts Association of Newton County since the early 2000s. Every year, he and his wife sponsored students with book bags for school, bikes and toys for the holidays, and never missed an opportunity to give out hams and turkeys for Thanksgiving. He attended Springfield Baptist Church under the pastoral leadership of the Rev, Dr. Eric Wendell Lee, Sr., where he was a member from 2003 until his passing. The Legacy Keith leaves behind many loved ones to cherish his fond memories: a loving and devoted wife of 33 and a half years, Deborah Smith Phillips; four daughters, Jessica Ré Phillips, Sara Ashley Phillips, Chelsea Savanna Phillips, and Mackenzie Symone Phillips; four sisters-in-love, Cynthia Phillips, Mary Smelley, Barbara Jackson, and Sandra Owens Sinclair (Alexander); two brothers-in-love, Lawson J. Smith and Benjamin Smith (Bonnie); one maternal aunt, Margaret ‘Honey’ Hall (Ferdinand); one godson, Shaun-Charles Cameron Allen; a dearly beloved dog, Gotti; many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, cousins and a host of other relatives, friends and business partners. Celebration of Life Services for Keith William Phillips will be held on Saturday, December 5, 2020 at 1:00PM. These services will be recorded and streamed live. In the event the service is interrupted at any time due to technical issues, the entire service will be uploaded and available to view later in the day. Please copy and paste the link to share, or simply click on the link to view the service. https://vimeo.com/485709015

Tributes

Keith William Phillips

March 21, 1957 - November 27, 2020