Elizabeth Elliott
“Betty” Phillips died at her home on Argilla Road, Ipswich, on
August 25, 2008, after a brief illness.
She was born in
Charleston, S.C., in 1922 and was the daughter of the naturalist
writer, Herbert Ravenel Sass and Marion Hutson Sass. Mrs.
Phillips grew up in the city and amidst the great tidal wetlands
near Charleston, where as a girl she displayed considerable
skill at hand-netting shrimp.
She met her husband,
Arthur Phillips, in South Carolina; they were married in 1943 in
Seattle, where her husband was stationed as a pilot in the Naval
Air Corps. They moved to Massachusetts in 1946, first to
Cambridge and then to Ipswich.
Mrs. Phillips was a
lifelong bird watcher and enjoyed watching the herons and egrets
at her home overlooking Rantoul Pond. She was also an avid
conservationist and gardener and a very devoted mother and
grandmother. Throughout life, she lost neither her strong
connection to South Carolina nor her heartwarming Southern
charm. She will be remembered for her gentle and kind spirit.
She leaves two
daughters, Marion Phillips of Hopkinton and Elizabeth Hatch, of
Ipswich; a son, John Phillips of Boston; seven grandchildren;
and a brother, Marion H. Sass of Charleston, S.C.
Private funeral
arrangements are under the direction of Whittier-Porter Funeral
Home of Ipswich.
In lieu of flowers,
donations may be sent to the South Carolina Coastal Conservation
League, 328 East Bay Street, Post Office Box 1765,
Charleston, SC 29402,
or The Trustees of
Reservations,
572 Essex Street, Beverly, MA 01915-1530
