Mr. Phillip Lee, age 68, departed this temporal world on March 3, 2015 and transitioned into the glorious dwelling of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He and his family learned he had developed pancreatic cancer only a few weeks before he passed. He will be sorely missed by his family, friends and all who knew and loved him. He leaves behind a rich legacy of devotion, inspiration and love.

Phillip was born to Ruby Shelby on November 6, 1946 in Dallas, Texas where he lived as a child and a young man. There he met and married the love of his life, BettyJean Short, before relocating his family to Plano,Texas which became the family home. Phillip was employed as an Electronics Technician at General Electric Dallas' Housewares Division for more than twenty years. There he worked diligently as a dedicated and loyal manager until his retirement in 1986.

In May of 2014, Phillip sadly lost his beloved wife, BettyJean... only ten months before his own demise. During her illness and declne over a three year period, he spent every day by her side tenderly loving and caring for her. Phillip felt honored and privileged to have had her as his wife and enjoyed their marriage for more than forty years. He mourned her loss very deeply.

The miracles of God are real and Phillip Lee was a talking, walking testament to that... In June of 2013, after surviving a stroke only a year before while visiting Atlanta for his grand-daughter Nikki's baby shower, he suffered three back-to-back cardiac arrests where he was pronounced dead for a total of forty five minutes. Baylor McKinney Hospital's (McKinney, Texas) medical staff recalls unexplained events that led to his miraculous revival as well as a near complete recovery that included the return of his sight, his speach, his mobility, his cognitive abilities as well as restoration to all his organs that had ceased functioning. And if all that wasn't miraculous enough, Phillip later shared with his family - and anyone else who was willing to listen - the amazing story of his after-death, out-of-body experience where he reported seeing a team of doctors, nurses and various medical staff working feverishly below him to revive his dead body. Phillip surprised everyone by his ability to recognize and name every doctor and nurse that worked in the emergency room to revive him. When the doctors in the hospital heard of the miracle, they all visited and looked upon him in amazement and disbelief.

Also, during his out-of-body experience, Phillip shared a horifying recount with his family. He tearfully shared how he found himself in a place of utter darkness and unimaginable loneliness. "I was terrified," his daughter Shelli remembers him saying. He shared these words as well: "I remember thinking to myself, where is the light? I don't see the light that everyone talks about." God is so very gracious, so very good and ever so merciful... Days later, while lying in his hospital bed visably traumatized by the event, his son-in-law, Dwayne Hughes, led him to Christ. During this miraculous event, Phillip also reported hearing the Voice of God telling him that his time had not yet come. The day Phillip finally left the hospital, he reported seeing "a light in the sky so bright that it hurt my eyes to look at it. But in the light, I saw Jesus sitting on a throne in the heavens."

After a lengthy stay, Phillip again surprised everyone by walking out of the hospital and continuing his life where he left off, loving and caring for his terminally ill wife every day until she left him to be with the Lord. At her memorial in May of 2014, Phillip shared with his family a beautiful and touching story. He told of how he comforted his wife shortly before she passed by telling her, "When you get to heaven, look for a beautiful meadow that grows beside a stream, where the sun is shining and the birds are singing.... Wait for me there and I will find you."

Phillip rarely spoke of his own dreams, desires, gifts and talents, but on rare occassions he would talk of how he had wanted to become an architect as a child and a teenager. Phillip was a phenomenal cook, he loved to fish, he could build anything and work wonders with his hands. Phillip drew extremely well and was a gifted painter. He would have made an exceptional architect. He also spoke of wanting to travel the world and live in Paris. Unfortunately, he never achieved those dreams. Instead, he chose to answer a higher, more admirable call. He selflessly placed his own aspirations aside to care for his brothers and sisters when they had no one there to care for them. His younger sister, Charlene, shares a touching story of how hard Phillip worked to provide for them. "He would work two and three jobs at a time to take care of us," she remembers. She also spoke of how creative and resourceful he was. "I remember how Bucky (Phillip) would make toys for us to play with," she recalls. "We were very poor and couldn't afford to buy them."

Phillip is survived by his three daughters, R'chelle Cyrus-Hughes of Lawrenceville, Georgia, Jena Norman of Melissa, Texas and Phelicia Lee of Springdale, Maryland; his four grandchildren, Brienne Miller of Atlanta, Georgia, Christian Owens of Plano, Texas, Ansyn-Nicole Wilson of Lithonia, Georgia and Alexandra Norman of McKinney, Texas; his three great-grandchildren, Sarai Norman, Lyric Norman and Marvin Wilson, Jr.; his two son-in-laws, Dwayne Hughes of Lawrenceville, Georgia and Glen Norman of Melissa, Texas and his three grand-son-in-laws, John Miller of Atlanta, Georgia, Marvin Wilson, Sr. of Lithonia, Georgia and Glendon Norman of McKinney, Texas.

Phillip is also survived by two sisters, Addie (Dimple) Wilson of Dallas, Texas and Charlene Haskett of Denver, Colorado, and a brother, Larry Lee of Aurora, Colorado (who he was recently reunited with after 40 years) as well as numerous cousins, other relatives and friends. 

The family of Phillip Lee would very much like to express their sincere gratitude to Baylor McKinney Hospital in McKinney, Texas, Park Manor Skilled Nursing of McKinney, Texas and Heart To Heart Hospice. The care and compassion that was shown by all throughout the time of his illness was a blessing to him as well as to his daughters. Words cannot express how much we appreciate you all.