Sandra Jean Geddings Phillips

AIKEN, SC - Sandra Jean Geddings Phillips, 79, passed away gently and peacefully on Thursday, March 4, 2021 in the presence of a family member and medical staff of University Hospital in Augusta, Georgia. Sandra was born on May 17, 1941 in Columbia, SC to Roland Elmore Geddings and Joyce Till Geddings. An only child, she traveled with her parents to Los Alamos, NM where her father served in the U.S. Army with the Manhattan Project during WWII. After her mother’s death the family moved to Aiken, SC and her father worked and retired from the Savannah River Plant. She attended and was baptized at Millbrook Baptist Church where she participated in many events. She was a graduate of Aiken High School (1959), North Greenville Junior College (A.A. 1962), University of Louisville (B.A. 1966), and the University of South Carolina (M.A. 1976). She was a career elementary school educator, teaching in public schools in Virginia and South Carolina including Leesville, Wagner, Clearwater, and Warrenville. She taught second grade at Clearwater Elementary School for 25 years. She retired from Aiken County Public Schools in 2001. Sandra was also an accomplished vocalist having studied music at North Greenville Junior College and singing with the school choir. She sang often in the churches where she lived in Mississippi, Kentucky, Virginia, and South Carolina. She was a life-long Baptist. Sandra was preceded in death by her parents, and former spouse Basil J. Phillips, and stepsister Brenda D. Spires (Gary Sr.). Survivors include her children, James David Phillips (Sonja), Joyce Elaine Phillips Johnson (Tom Hackelman), Stephen Roland Phillips, William Alan Phillips (Christina); grandchildren, James Chandler Phillips, Tyler Hunter Phillips, Sheridan Haley Johnson; cousin, James Brennen; stepsisters: Gwendolyn J. Brown (Bill), Reba R. Hill (Richard); Susan W. Bible (Hidey); and nieces and nephews. A Memorial Service will be held at Millbrook Baptist Church (Chapel) in Aiken, SC on Thursday, April 15th at 11:00 a.m. with the Revs. David and Sonja Phillips officiating. Visitation will take place on Wednesday, April 14th from 5-7 p.m. at Shellhouse Funeral Home on Hayne Avenue in Aiken. Memorials may be made to Area Churches Together Serving (ACTS) in Aiken and be contacted at their office at (803) 649-3800. The family also wishes to express heartfelt gratitude to the doctors, nurses, and medical staff of University Hospital in Augusta, GA for their love and care during Sandra’s last two weeks on this earth. SHELLHOUSE FUNERAL HOME, INC., 924 HAYNE AVE., AIKEN, SC 29801 To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Sandra Jean Geddings Phillips, please visit our flower store.