James 'Jim' Montgomery Phillips

James “Jim” Montgomery Phillips, of Creede, and Fort Worth, Texas, passed away Jan. 16, 2022, after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease.

A celebration of life memorial will be held at University Christian Church at 2 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 21.

Jim was born on Aug. 17, 1944, in Bartlesville, Okla., to Anne and Charlie Phillips. He was a lanky, tennis-playing teen who graduated from College High School in Bartlesville in 1962 and went on to play on the University of Oklahoma tennis team for two years.

After completing an engineering degree at OU, he was hired by General Dynamics as a mechanical engineer. He worked on the F-111, F-16, F-22 and F-35 jet fighter designs and variants. Over a 41-year career, GD and Lockheed gave him the opportunity to travel the world on business, including his favorite country, Turkey. He raised three boys with his first wife, Traute.

In a doubles tennis group in 1985, Jim met Margaret Norwood, and they married in 1986. They raised three children of their own and visited all seven continents, reaching Antarctica on their 30th wedding anniversary.

One of Jim’s proudest achievements was initiating opportunities for local children to learn the sport of tennis with the newly created Fort Worth National Junior Tennis League.

Jim is survived by Margaret, his wife of 36 years, six children, Monty, Tom, Michael, Emily, Matthew, and Tyler, their spouses, and five grandchildren, Sarah, Ben, Mary Lea, Annie and Oliver. Oliver, now 3, was a great joy in his later years living with dementia.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Creede Early Learning Center, PO Box 191, Creede, CO 81130, where Jim, a lifelong baker, was known as “the Pie Man."