Michael Phillips, passed away October 31, 2023.
Please use this link to watch a live stream of Michael’s celebration of life.
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82255894827?pwd=IunDQRjaWeQFyiBe71bkTaaYbZyaXV.1
A celebration of life will be Saturday, November 11, 2023, at the ARN Funeral Home, 11411 N. Michigan Road, Zionsville, Indiana 46077, starting at 4:00pm with a visitation from 2:00pm until time of the service.
Michael “Mike” Christopher Phillips, 54, was born in Tacoma, Washington, on the 11th of September 1969 while his father was deployed in Vietnam. The family was reunited months later, and Michael made his first of countless trips to Germany. By age 3 he could identify helicopters by sound.
The Phillips family moved on to North Carolina, Michigan, New Jersey, and finally Spartanburg, South Carolina, where Michael attended Dorman High School (old location), and then the University of South Carolina at the Upstate and Columbia campuses. At Upstate he met the love of his life Christine Christensen at a work study job. He graduated as a mechanical engineer, a fitting degree for a lifelong car lover. In college he participated in the Baja Project, creating cars from scratch. He continued his studies with the Masters of International Business (program including a semester of study in Germany, reuniting with family there). Over the years he visited Germany for work, study, leisure, and family visits.
After marrying Christine in Maryland, the two shared 29 loving years together. They studied and worked together in Orangeburg and Charleston, South Carolina, and bought their first home in Raleigh, North Carolina. They both took jobs at Eli Lilly in Indianapolis, Indiana, took a 2-year excursion to work at Amgen in California, and then landed back in Indiana. Throughout his career, he worked on medical devices for diabetes care and cutting-edge insulin injection pens, products that resonated with his family. Michael and Christine enjoyed worldwide travel, with the Caribban, the Baltics, Russia, Thailand, New Zealand, and Australia as favorite destinations. Both avid cat lovers, Michael and Christine provided a loving home for Spike, Fox & Scully, Neelix, and Dax & Sisko. Their shared love of sci-fi is reflected in their pets’ names. Michael pursued his love of cars, joining the Audi TT Owners Club for multiple activities, designing and manufacturing aftermarket car parts, and most recently became a Jaguar F-type owner. Michael is survived by his loving wife Dr. Christine Phillips, his parents Jack and Ruthild Phillips of Spartanburg, three sisters Anette Ahrens, Tine Phillips, and Katrina Phillips, brother-in-law Patrick Ahrens, nephew Brendan Ahrens, and niece Elise Patel Ahrens. On November 11, 2023, a visitation will begin at 2pm followed by a celebration of life at 4pm, at ARN Mortuary in Zionsville, Indiana. Additional information and a link to the livestream can be found at www.albertsonsmortuary.com/michael-phillips. In lieu of flowers, please donate in memoriam to the National Alliance on Mental Illness at NAMI.org.
Susi and I are so sorry for your loss. You all are in our hearts and prayers.
Chris,
I was very sad to learn of Mike’s passing. I always enjoyed seeing and catching up with him each year at tax time. May you find peace and comfort now and in the future.
Lou and I are so very sorry for your loss. Praying for you now and in the days to come as you grieve ~ that God’s loving arms will gently embrace you. With much love to you and your entire family. ❤️🙏
Jack and Ruth,
We are thinking of you and your family.
There are just no words to express our great
sympathy for this devastating loss.
We love you. Bj and Jeff
Mike was a great friend. I will miss him. My prayers go out to his family.
To the entire Phillips family, with our heartfelt sympathy at this most difficult time. Our prayers are with you all.
Kim & Ian
Christine
Saddened to hear of Mike’s passing and your loss. Praying for your comfort and peace during this difficult time.
Regards,
Mark Leusch
I am SO sorry to hear about this. Mike and I were working together on a special Jaguar F-Type Grill project together on the forums. Everyone on there was really concerned and through some research came across this. The entire Jag Forum community, who he was very involved with and helpful, are so sorry for your loss. I would love to be able to connect with you on the work he was doing, so I can perhaps take over and complete the work he started, in his honor. I will leave my contact details. For someone who is a complete stranger to you, we will be praying for your family. So sorry for your loss.