It is doubtful Charlie Phillips could be described with one word, friends and family said.
“I can do it in two,” said long-time friend Pat Creel. “Relentlessly enthusiastic. He was a total dynamo of energy and it mostly filtered out through sports, music and his legal career.”
And Mr. Phillips never did just one thing at a time, he was a musician, teacher, attorney and sportsman, for starters.
“I got to know Charlie from four different directions,” Mr. Creel said. “Which is pretty accurate because Charlie was in four different directions, all at once.”
Mr. Phillips’ friends marveled at his life, which always seemed to come together no matter what.
“He just kept creating new things to do in his life,” said childhood friend Bill Hardin. “He would not be denied doing what he wanted to do.”
But the biggest mystery about Mr. Phillips wasn’t how he did all that he did, but why he wasn’t able to continue for many more years, Mr. Creel said.
“We just don’t know exactly what happened,” he said.
Glenn Phillips said his brother was a smoker for most of his life, but not in recent years. That fact combined with a recent throat virus and a heart murmur, which was diagnosed when he was a child, could have contributed to the unexpected turn of events.
Charles Patrick Phillips III, of Atlanta, widely known as Charlie, died Sunday in his sleep at home of suspected heart failure. He was 65. A memorial service will be planned for a later date. The Cremation Society of Georgia was in charge of arrangements.
Charlie Phillips was a member of a number of bands, playing bass or drums, including the Hampton Grease Band in the 60s. He was also the legal representation for a number of bands and musicians over the years, Glenn Phillips said.
“He was always on the lookout for the next great band,” Mr. Phillips said of his brother. “He was trying to get me to go to Oregon to produce a band with him, hours before he died.”
And while he may be best known for his contributions to the music world, Charlie Phillips was also proud of his roles as a teacher, mediator and softball pitcher, friends and family said. In the 70s, Mr. Phillips taught at Towns Elementary School for approximately five years, before deciding to go to law school. He was also a mediator at the Neighborhood Justice Center, now known as the Justice Center of Atlanta. And one of Mr. Phillips’ most exciting accomplishments was pitching for a national softball championship team, The Cadillacs, in 1980, his brother said.
Most recently however, Charlie Phillips spent his time windsurfing, skiing, playing tennis and working with musicians.
“He spent his entire life doing exactly what he wanted and he died peacefully in his sleep ... I can't help but think his was a happy story with a happy ending, ” Glenn Phillips said of his brother. “I’ve spent a lifetime thinking I’ve got the best big brother, and I have to admit, the world can't help but seem a little emptier without him.”
Charlie Phillips is also survived by another brother Wayne Phillips of Concord, Calif., and a sister Lee Ann Crowle of Concord, Calif.
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