Sue Phillips

Throughout her childhood and early adulthood, Sue lived in Detroit. She graduated from Mackenzie High School in 1960. With merit scholarships and part-time jobs, she completed her bachelor’s degree in library science and education at Wayne State University in 1964. Sue’s first teacher/librarian position was at McKerrow Elementary School, which was in the highest crime district of Detroit at the time. She then was invited to be part of Wayne State University’s Experienced Teacher’s Fellowship Program in School Librarianship, which would lead to a master of library science degree. After completing her coursework, Sue returned to teaching in Detroit, this time at Cooke Junior High School.

In May 1968, Sue married Roger M. Phillips, whom she had met through her church. She then completed her master’s degree. After a one-year break from teaching, she taught at Emerson Junior High School in Detroit.

In 1971, Sue and Roger moved to Alpena, where Roger took a position as an English teacher at Alpena High School. The couple welcomed their son, Nathan Todd, in 1974.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Sue worked in a variety of jobs. She market-gardened, graded eggs, worked as a paraprofessional tutor, and was a receptionist for a psychologist. The last position she held took her back to her library roots, this time as a research librarian at Alpena County George N. Fletcher Library from 1991 until 2001, when she retired.

Partially due to the financial challenges of her late childhood after her father died, Sue was always grateful for the opportunities she had throughout her life. She saw herself and her generation as beneficiaries of the generosity of the post-World War II era boom. In recent decades, however, she feared that income inequality in America and the explosion of excessive wealth for the richest few have brought that era to an end. She also feared the erosion of her country’s democratic institutions and its descent into autocracy.

Sue will be remembered by family and friends who knew her well as modest, even-tempered, kind, frugal, intelligent and tolerant of all but those who are intolerant. She disdained self-importance and arrogance, and she despised prejudice and discrimination in all forms.

Sue was preceded in death by her parents, her brother Fred and his wife Florence, and most recently, her brother Dan’s wife, Shirley.

Sue is survived by her husband of 58 years, Roger, her son Nathan (Amanda Littleman), her grand-children Amelia and Calvin, her brother Dan Hallgren, her sisters-in-law Rae Marle Bostrom (Fred) and Ruth Ann Robbins, and several nieces and nephews and their children.

A non-religious memorial gathering for family and friends will be held on June 20, 2026, at 1 pm. at First Presbyterian Church of Alpena, located at 1600 W. Chisholm Street in Alpena, with visitation beginning at 11 a.m. This informal gathering is meant to occasion a voluntary sharing of memories of Sue Christine Phillips. Whether they wish to share memories or just listen, family and friends of Sue are welcome. Visitors unfamiliar with Alpena should note that the entrance to the church parking lot is on Gilchrist Avenue, which is accessed from Long Rapids Road.

For those who wish to honor Sue’s life through a gift, the family has established the Sue Christine Phillips Memorial Scholarship Fund with the Alpena Community College Foundation. Family and friends who wish to contribute in Sue’s honor are encouraged to contact Mary Eagan, Executive Director of the ACC Foundation, at (989) 358-7297.

The family extend their gratitude to all who cared for Sue in her last months, days and hours, especially Cindy Davison and Theresa Talbot of Davison’s Care Home and nurse Tobey St. John of Hospice of Michigan, as well as several other nurses, home health aides and professionals too numerous to mention, also of Hospice of Michigan. Their care of Sue was extraordinary.

The family also wish to thank McWilliams Funeral Home for their careful and respectful handling of Sue’s remains.