Phillip E. (Phil) Mathis

Phillip E. (Phil) Mathis of Gainesville, age 63, died on Saturday, September 24.  Phil was a special person who dearly loved his wife, Sue, their daughters and their husbands Miranda and David Rouk of Lawrenceville, Georgia and Holly and Eric Lonergan of St. Cloud, Minnesota, and their five grandchildren, Alyssa, Haley and Drew Rouk, and Evey and Liberty Lonergan.

Phil was preceded in death by his dad, James E. Mathis, Sr.  In addition to his loved ones listed above, Phil is also survived by his mom, Frances Miller Mathis, brothers Jim (Robin) Mathis and Greg (Sally) Mathis, two nieces, Kelly (Morgan) Lee and Katie (Matt) Dubnik, and their children, Caroline and Isabel Lee and James and Davis Dubnik.

A man of many talents, Phil was a builder by trade and had a gift for visualizing a project from the ground-up before the first shovel of dirt was turned.  Phil served on the Lakewood Baptist Church original building committee and enjoyed a dear friendship with Tom Smiley, his pastor.  Along with his parents, Phil had an appreciation of art and pottery and worked with his Mom to curate the pottery exhibit at the Northeast Georgia History Center.  Phil also built the country store exhibit at the History Center, named the Miller Country Store in honor of his maternal grandfather.  He had a green thumb and appreciation of the outdoors, and enjoyed sharing with Sue his love of gardening.  When their children were growing up, Phil was actively involved with them in Girl Scouts, and he was almost always in attendance at Randi and Holly’s many activities, particularly piano, chorus, track and cross country events.  In recent years, he especially enjoyed watching Haley and Alyssa play soccer.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held on Saturday, October 1, 2016, at 11:00 am in the Lakewood Baptist Church Chapel, and the family will receive friends following the service.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Lakewood Baptist Church, 2235 Thompson Bridge Road Gainesville, GA 30501, or the Northeast Georgia History Center, 322 Academy St. NE. Gainesville, GA 30501.

Online condolences can be made at www.memorialparkfuneralhomes.com.  Memorial Park North Riverside Chapel 989 Riverside Drive, Gainesville, Georgia 30501 770.967.6200.