Dr. J. Davison Philips

Davison Philips, long time Decatur resident, died in Black Mountain, North Carolina on Sunday morning, March 25th. He was surrounded in his last days with family, favorite hymns and scripture, prayers and love. Born at home in 1920 in Peason, Louisiana, he grew up in and near Tallahassee, Florida. He was the son of V. G. Philips and Eleanor Davison Philips. He graduated from Hampton Sydney College in 1940 and from Columbia Theological Seminary in 1943. He was a Chaplain in the Navy in World War II and served with the Seabees on Guam. After the war, he did post graduate work at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland and earned his PhD from there in 1955. He holds Doctor of Divinity Degrees from his college alma mater and from Presbyterian College where he was a Trustee. He also served for thirty years as an Agnes Scott Trustee. Davison Philips was called to Decatur Presbyterian in 1954 from First Presbyterian Church in Thomasville, GA and served as the Senior Pastor in Decatur for 21 years.
From 1976 until 1986 he was the President of Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA. After his retirement from Columbia, he had important interim pastorates at First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta and Saint Andrews and Shallowford Road Presbyterian Churches. He was a former Moderator of the Atlanta Presbytery and the Synod of Georgia. He chaired the University Center in Georgia during his Presidency at Columbia. In 1958 he was a signer of the Manifesto that strongly advocated a different and positive approach to race relations in the South. The document stated in part, "No policy which seeks to keep anyone from developing fully every capacity of body, mind, and spirit can be justified in the light of Scripture."
He was active in the community, a Distinguished Rotarian at the Atlanta Rotary Club, the chair of the Decatur Citizen's Advisory Committee, and an honorary member of the Decatur Rotary Club. In 1987 he was named Mr. DeKalb County. He also served for 15 years as a Trustee at the J. Bulow Campbell Foundation. Davison Philips loved golf and belonged in the past to the Atlanta Athletic Club, and more recently, to Druid Hills Golf Club and to the Biltmore Forrest Golf Club in Asheville, NC. While at his summer home in Montreat, he might play 18 holes in the morning, work on his dissertation, outline sermons for the coming year, and play another 18 holes that afternoon. At one point, he held an 8 handicap at East Lake Golf Club.
He is survived by his wife of 69 years, the former Katherine Wright of Atlantic Beach, Florida, three children, Jim and his wife Donna, June and her husband Dr. Robert Peel, and Graham and his wife Marsha, 5 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren. His sister Katherine Long of Lookout Mountain, Tennessee and brother, Reverend Harry W. Philips of Gainesville, Georgia also survive him. Those who knew and loved him celebrate his life and his servant leadership that blessed us all. A private committal will be held, followed by a service of witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ at Decatur Presbyterian Church on March 31 at 11AM. The Rev. Dr. J. Todd Speed will lead worship, assisted by the Rev. Dr. T. Erskine Clarke, the Rev. Dr. J. Phillips Noble, and the Rev. Dr. George B. Wirth. A reception for the family will follow in Slack Fellowship Hall. To honor his life and ministry, gifts may be made to the Decatur Presbyterian Memorial Fund, 205 Sycamore Street Decatur, GA 30030 or to the J. Davison Philips Scholarship fund at Columbia Seminary, P.O. Box 520, Decatur, GA 30031. A. S. Turner & Sons Funeral Home & Crematory.


Funeral Home:
A. S. Turner & Sons
2773 North Decatur Road
Decatur, GA
30033