Barbara Ellen Phillips, 77
Barbara Ellen Phillips, 77, was born Sept. 9, 1946, in Chewelah, Washington, to William and Violet Boggess. She passed away on July 17, 2024, in Spokane Valley, Washington, after a long battle with cancer. She lived in Spokane Valley, for the last 8 years, but also resided in many other locations due to her husband’s railroad career. Lakeside (1985-2016), Billings, Tucson, Arizona; Davenport, Iowa; and Spokane. After she retired, she enjoyed a few years where she wintered in Arizona and summered in Montana.
Barbara "Bobbi" Boggess married Marion "Flip" Samuel Phillips on Oct. 1, 1962, in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. She retired after a 20+ year career at Applied Industrial Technology as an industrial equipment customer service rep and later as their office manager. Prior to that, she also worked in a variety of interesting positions including banking, interior design and her most favorite job, office staff member for a bail bonds company.
She was immensely proud of her two children and often said they were the best thing that ever happened to her. She cherished time with family and especially enjoyed get-togethers that always included good food, pinochle, cribbage, other games and always lots of laughter … and maybe a little playful cheating. She was known to enjoy the regular purchase of lottery tickets or visiting the casinos and had two big wins: a significant jackpot in 2009 and meeting a dear longtime friend. She loved Montana and although she was born and raised in Washington and later moved back, she said Montana would always be her forever home.
Bobbi was extremely hard working and was one of the first to step up when it came time to work on a project (yard maintenance, home renovation, car detail, garage sale prep, chopping and hauling enormous amounts of wood). She was extremely organized and exhibited special "Marie Kondo" traits and her daughter would often reach out when she needed the motivation and encouragement to purge closets or her house, which they would later refill on one of their shopping excursions.
She is survived by her son, Samuel Phillips (wife Jennifer); daughter, Shelly Tucker (husband Mike); brother, Melvin Boggess (wife Kathy); and sister, Doris Darby (husband Jim), her beloved nieces and nephews, and great nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Marion (Flip) Phillips (deceased in 1989); partner, Dave Bowman (deceased in 2015); brother, Frank Boggess; sister, Shirley Patterson; and both parents, William and Violet Boggess.
A memorial service will be held at a later date at the Conrad Memorial Cemetery in Kalispell. Please share your memories of Bobbi on her tribute wall at www.hennesseyvalley.com.