Obituary of Elden Russell Phillips

Elden Russell Phillips, 90, of Kimberly passed away Tuesday April 19th at home surrounded by his loving family. Elden was the oldest of 4 boys born to Lauretta and Frank Phillips of Aberdeen, where he was born and raised. He was kind of a prankster in his younger years. His kids always joked that if he grew up in current times none of us would exist. He was known for wrecking 3 cop cars in a month. Two of them he ran into the beet slew and the last one he took the rear end out of. He served in the Army for the 6th Infantry Division in Fort Ord California in the Vietnam War from 1954-1956. He had married Emma and had two children, Trieste and Danny. They later divorced. He then met the love of his life, Norene Mason. They married in March of 1958. They welcomed 4 more children: Sheila, Tory, Beth, and Russell. They traveled with road construction for a number of years and saw a lot of places. They finally settled in Kimberly in 1964. Elden lived on the same property until his passing. Elden and Norene were voted Kimberly’s Good neighbors in 2012. They ran the paper route in Kimberly for 35 years. They were known for zipping around Kimberly in their golf carts. He was known for falling asleep and always coming to the rescue if his grandkids ever needed his help. Elden enjoyed spending time with loved ones, working in his shop, and “learning up” his kids/grandkids as well as many others! He was always telling his family stories of his childhood. He is survived by his 5 loving kids: Trieste (Mike), Sheila, Tory (Mike), Beth, and Russ; 10 grandchildren: Tina (Jeff), Shaun, Tonya (Andrew), Shane (Katie), Tyler (Anna), Karlee, Zach (Laura), Mckayla (David), Nick, and Austin. He is also survived by 9 great grandkids. He was preceded in death by his love, Norene, their parents: Lauretta and Frank Phillips and Dallas and Vanda Mason. His son Danny and daughter in law Tina, as well as numerous extended family members and many beloved pets. The family would like to thank Hospice Visions for the great care he had received over the last year or so. A special thank you to his nurses, Steve and Johnny, as well as many others.