Candy Phillips, board member of the Baptist Center for Ethics, died Friday, Dec. 22 in Nashville.
Candy Cheri Poole Phillips, 70, passed away after complications from cancer. (Read the obituary in the Tennessean.)
“Her genteel manner, coupled with her keen insight, were invaluable in helping to lead the BCE through its most important transition in the organization’s history,” said Kevin Heifner, chair of BCE’s board of directors.
“She was such a delightful and gracious person to work with, and I know she will be missed by many friends, church members and family,” Heifner added. “She exempified what it means to be a Christian lady, in the best sense of both words.”
Phillips, a resident of Brentwood, Tennessee, began serving on the BCE board in 2016. She was also a member of the search committee – comprised of Phillips, Heifner and Don Gordon – that called Mitch Randall in October to lead BCE after the death in March of founder Robert Parham.
“Having served with Candy on the search team that brought Dr. Mitch Randall to the BCE, I quickly saw how intelligent, humble and team-oriented she was in her very core,” said Gordon, senior pastor of Ardmore Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
“It was clear to me how she had been recognized as a WMU leader in Tennessee and around the country for years,” he continued. “It was an honor to serve with her and work with her as a colleague for the church of Jesus Christ and the common good of humanity.”
Phillips, a native of Lawton, Oklahoma, was a former executive director of Tennessee Woman’s Missionary Union and an active member of Nashville’s First Baptist Church.
She is survived by her husband, Bill; their three grown children and their spouses; her mother, Doris Poole; two siblings; seven grandchildren; and many nephews, nieces and cousins.
Visitation will be Thursday, Dec. 28 at First Baptist Church in Nashville at 10 am, followed by a memorial service at 11 am.