CHARLESTOWN – NOV. 25, 2022 – Friday, as a rainy, gray morning gave way to the warming sunshine of a late autumn day, they laid Robert (Bob) Earl Phillips to rest at St. John’s United Methodist Church Cemetery, where family, friends, town leaders, and the fire company gathered to bid farewell. Born on March 6, 1922, when Warren G. Harding was president, the popular 100-year-old civic leader passed away on November 21, 1922.
Growing up in Mechanics Valley, he attended high school in North East where he met Rebecca E. Cooper. After they married in 1943, the couple made their home in Charlestown. Bob Touched many lives as he and his wife, Rebecca, who passed away in 2018, embraced various causes and interests.
Fire Company Founding Member
After flames damaged two houses in January 1948, he helped establish the Charlestown Fire Company. Engines from North East and Perryville had to travel a distance to answer the alarms, so the community wanted first responders stationed in the town.
Back in 2014, we interviewed Bob Phillips and Pete Williams, another charter member, about these challenges for the Volunteer Trumpet, the newsletter of the Maryland State Firemen’s Association. They recalled that volunteers turned out to erect a single bay station and raise money to start the company. Bob was a master craftsman, so his practical skills were used as carpenters, masons, concrete finishers, and electricians purchased the materials, laid the foundation, put up the walls, and finished the interior of Station 5.
The firefighters purchased a second-hand engine, a chain-driven 1927 Mack, from the Brooklyn Fire Department (MD). The Kennedyville Fire Company now owns it. In those early years, Elizabeth McMullen took emergency phone calls at her home as a radio network hadn’t been established, they recalled. At all hours of the day and night, if an emergency call came in, she answered the phone and ran to the station to ring the alarm. Throughout his life, Bob maintained his membership in the Charlestown Fire Company and was one of the last surviving charter members.
Community Leader
The centenarian was also active in the town’s government and about every other aspect of civic life. Besides serving as President of the Board of Commissioners for several years in the 1950s, he held posts on the election board, historic preservation district, and many other committees. The couple worshiped at St. John’s United Methodist Church, where Bob served on the Board of Trustees. He was a life member of Masonic Lodge 48, the Historical Society of Cecil County, Colonial Charlestown, and many other groups.
Toward the end of the funeral service, The Rev. Mary Brown asked mourners if anyone wanted to offer a few reflections. Former Town Commission President Steven Vandervort stepped forward. He noted that whenever he faced a vexing problem, the path forward being unclear, he talked with the former elected leader. Mr. Phillips helped him clarify the options and solutions as Bob would say, oh, this is how we handled it years ago. His advice was helpful as Bob, one of the town’s strongest advocates, was a positive, practical, solution-oriented mentor who understood the backstory of the challenges the municipality faced.
Internment was with fire department honors at the Charlestown Cemetery.
On this day, our thoughts turned to the delightful afternoons when we spent an hour or two in Charlestown talking about the community and the town’s past. Bob Phillips and Becky were wonderful people. Every community should have a Becky and Bob. They had the best interest of Charlestown and Cecil County in mind in everything they did. They cared deeply for the community, and their contributions will be remembered.
For additional photos of our visits with Bob and Becky, click this link.