Army Veteran, Edward (Ed) James McPhillips, of Narragansett, Dies at 89
Avery-Storti Funeral Home & Crematory
Army Veteran, Edward (Ed) James McPhillips, of Narragansett, Dies at 89
Edward was born at home on November 5th, 1932, to Joseph Matthew McPhillips and Catherine Frances McPhillips (Wilde) in Providence, Rhode Island.
After attending St. Raphael Academy in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, he went on to proudly serve his country in the United States Army, Stationed in Salzburg Austria as an automatic rifleman in Company C of the 350th Infantry Regt. He then attended the New England Technical Institute in Providence before starting his career with Raytheon as an electronics technician and later working for the U.S Navy Underwater Sound Laboratory as a Submarine Electronic Systems Analyst at the Naval Underwater Systems Center (NUSC) in both Groton Connecticut and Newport Rhode Island. Ed enjoyed his work travels to various places including Hawaii, San Diego, and Virginia.
On May 9th, 1964, Edward married the love of his life, Cynthia Marie McPhillips (Benson) of Taunton, MA. Ed and Cynthia were blessed with two children, Dawn Marie McPhillips and Charles Joseph McPhillips whom they would raise by the beaches of Narragansett.
After retiring in 1998, Ed spent much of his time on the water, boating around Salt Pond with his beloved wife, children, and grandchildren. He loved his family, tending to his garden, his Great Dane, Lord Chippendale, his Golden Retrievers, Rusty and Kelly, and baseball and football games; he was a lifelong Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots fan. Most of all Ed was committed to his family, spending weekends taking his family, nieces and nephews to the beach or the park and to Sunset Farm where he would spend hours pushing his granddaughter on the swing and the location where he would later give her away in marriage.
Ed was strongly committed to charitable committees and organizations, including the Monsignor Clarke School fundraising committee, Narragansett Land Trust Committee, The Pension Board, and the Recreation Advisory Committee. He was a devoted communicant of Saint Mary’s Star of the Sea church and a lifelong member of The Knights of Columbus of which he was a 4th degree Grand Knight.
He is now reunited with his wife, Cynthia Marie McPhillips and his Son, Charles Joseph McPhillips. He is survived by his daughter, Dawn Marie McPhillips and her husband David J Sampson; three grandchildren, Lauren Marie, Richard, Steeve McPhillips, and Jennifer Peckham; (10) sisters and brothers, Sister Mary Agnes of the Cross of the Little Sisters of the Poor and William B. McPhillips; his daughter in law, Eva McPhillips, and many nieces and nephews and dear friends. He was the brother of the late Joseph M. McPhillips, Catherine F. Surowiec, John “Jack” McPhillips, Patricia E. Caron, Mary E. Mularz, Anna B. Bricualt and Dolores Bonetti.
A funeral will be held on Friday, November 12, 2021 at 8:45 am from Avery-Storti Funeral Home, 88 Columbia Street, Wakefield, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30 am in Christ the King Church, 180 Old North Road, Kingston.
Burial with military honors will follow in Rhode Island Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Exeter.
Visiting hours will be held on Thursday, November 11, 2021 from 5-8 pm in Avery-Storti Funeral Home.
Those wishing to honor Ed’s lifelong commitment to family and community can make donations to the Little Sisters of the Poor, Jeanne Jugan Residence, 964 Main Street, Pawtucket, RI 02860.
“because my Father lived his soul, love is the whole and more than all” - E.E. Cummings