Hudson Bissell "Bill" Phillips Jr. was born in Hawaii on September 10, 1933 to First Lieutenant Chaplain Hudson B. and Dorothy Vreeland Phillips Sr. His dad was born in New York. His mother was born September 27, 1903 in Weehawken, Heights, New Jersey. A ship's manifest lists Bill's birth as August 10, 1933, in Schofield Barracks, T. H. At the age of 8 1/2 months he accompanied his mother on an army transport ship, Republic, from Honolulu to San Francisco, departing June 7, 1934 and arriving June 14, 1934. Dorothy and Bill returned departing Vancouver, BC on September 12, 1933, arriving Honolulu September 18, 1934.Their home is Schofield Barracks. In March of 1935, Dorothy again takes Bill, 17 months and his 8 weeks old brother John Anthony home to the States on the Republic.

 

S. S. Republic, the family took many trips on this ship.

In 1940, the family lived in Chaplain Corp housing at Selfridge Field in Harrison, Macomb, MI. Hudson Sr. is a post chaplain. There was now a two-year-old sister, Ann Sheriden, born at Fort Sheridan, Hawaii (several documents, however, say she was born in Illinois).The 1935 Census says that they were living on Governors Island, New York.

In 1941, Major Hudson Phillips, Sr. was living with his family in Quarry Heights, Canal Zone. When the war broke out, he underwent paratrooper training and became chaplain of the 11th Airborne Division, which fought in New Guinea, Leyte and Manila and helped liberate the Los Banos prison camp in the Philippines.

On February 14, 1942, Dorothy and the three children arrived in New Orleans aboard the Shawnee from Christobal, Canal Zone. They listed their address as Miami, FL.

The 1945 Florida Census lists the Phillips family living in Dade County, Florida.

In 1949, Bill attended the Texas Military Institute in San Antonio, TX. Douglas MacArthur graduated from TMI. A photo of him at the time is below.

Bill attended high school in Heidelberg, Germany, during the post-war period of occupation.

On August 9, 1951, Dorothy 47, Bill 17, John 16, and Ann 14, depart from New York for Bremerhaven, Germany on the USNS General Alexander W. Patch (T-AP122). Their length of stay is "Indefinite." Their residence at the time was 622 W. State St., Trenton, NJ.

On September 17, 1952, Bill 18 and John return to New York. Bill is headed for Colgate University, Hamilton, NY, and John is headed for 27 E. Hall, Hamilton, NY. East Hall is a residential dorm at Colgate. Their father had attended Colgate. Bill and John make another trip from Bremerhaven to New York in September 1953. Bill's father was now a Lt. Colonel.

Bill's senior entry in the 1956 Colgate University yearbook states he attended the Texas Military Institute in San Antonio and transferred from U. of Oklahoma. Bill and John graduated at Colgate the same year. Bill was a history major and was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon social fraternity. John was a social science major and was president of Tau Kappa Epsilon and a member of the glee club.

 

 

 

 

From 1956-1959, Bill was the Student Assistant at Spencer Ripley Methodist Church in Rochester, NY.

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In 1959, Bill and John both graduated from the Colgate-Rochester Divinity School. John Anthony Phillips studied theology in Glasgow, Scotland. Ann was a voice student at Oklahoma College for Women. She graduated in 1959. Bill and John were ordained in 1969 by the First Baptist Church in Hamilton, NY.

Following graduation from Colgate University and Colgate Rochester Divinity School, Bill's work led him through the breadth of American life: the ending of segregation in the South, the peace movement and the draft, the emergence of the counter culture, and extensive work with developmentally-challenged youth and people with special needs.

The Evans Journal, Angola, NY, newspaper said that Bill in 1959 became pastfor of First Congregational Church (maybe Union Congregational Church) in Friona, Texas.

He married Betty Lou Bennett on September 7, 1963 in Dallas, Texas. Betty was the daughter of Gordon T. and Alta Cothern Bennett. The service was performed by B.K. Mubro, United Church of Christ, Drummond, OK. Betty was from Lombard, IL She studied music at Indiana University and at the Univeristy of Texas. She was Profesora de canto at Universidad Nacional de Panamå and Adjunct Professor of Music at Central Teas Collegel. Betty was a soprano and voice teacher. In Austin, Betty was the concert director for the highly successful Central Presbyterian Church Noon Day Concert Series. Betty sang in many venues. Bill and Betty's daughters are Stephanie and Katie. Stephanie, violist, and Katy, cellist, played in the trio at the Congregational Church of Austin.

1965-69 In Lincoln, Nebraska, Bill was associate pastor of United Ministries in Higher Education.While there, in 1969, Bill testified at the trial of Stephen E. Abbot who had been denied conscientious objector status in Lincoln, Nebraska. Bill said he has a good reputation in the community for honesty, veracity and as a religious person. Bill studied modern drama at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. During this turbulent period of our country, Bill wrote a number of very insightful letters to the newspaper. Three of these are included at the end of this page.

In 1973, Bill was campus minister for United Ministry of Higher Educational at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

In 1985, Bill and Berry were in Austin, TX.

In 1991 Bill was living in Pembroke, MA.

Book of poems by Hudson B. "Bill" Phillips:

The Oyster-Stuffed Locker

Available at Amazon The Oyster-Stuffed Locker

Bill passed away July 21, 2021, surrounded by his family.

Bill and Betty Phillips Photos