James Kelly Phillips was born in Kansas City, Missouri, April 25, 1958, one of two children born to Roderick and Eva Wardin Phillips. He died unexpectedly at his Louisville, Colorado home. He was 61.

A Celebration of James’s life is planned for 11 a.m. Saturday, July 27, at Chapel Oaks Funeral Home in Hiawatha with Pastor Andrew Finch officiating. Inurnment will follow next to his parents at Mt. Hope Cemetery, Hiawatha.

The family will meet with friends one hour prior to services.

Memorial contributions are suggested to the Brown County #3143 Chapter of Quail Forever, left in care of the funeral home.

He grew up in the Kansas City, Missouri area but was in the Raytown School District where he graduated from Raytown South High School with the class of 1976. An important part of James’ life was scouting...he became an Eagle Scout in 1973. He went on to further his education at the University of Missouri – Columbia before transferring to the University of Colorado-Boulder and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Mathematics. For the past 15 years, he has worked for Harris (formerly RSI) as the Director of Emerging and Advanced Technologies – Geospatial Solutions. Prior to that, James had worked at various technology companies in Colorado.

His folks were raised in Hiawatha so through the years it was not uncommon for the family to visit family and friends here, before in later years, they retired to Hiawatha. James enjoyed his visits here, making new friends along the way. The family enjoyed their time at their cabin on the family farm, north of Hiawatha. That being said, James enjoyed the outdoors, hunting and fishing, and just being away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Survivors include his daughter Jennifer Ronimous of Greenwood, IN; his sister Susan Mooney of Independence, MO; his aunt and her family Margaret “Maggie” Tritsch of Hiawatha; and grandchildren Jakob and Jordan Ronimous.

A special message may be sent to the family at www.chapeloaksfuneralhome.com