Clark Cyrus Phillips passed into Eternal glory on September 23, 2024 at his home in North Collins, NY.  He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Sue Streeter Phillips, four children, Cynthia (Paul) Meyer, David (Ann) Phillips, Peter (Julia) Phillips, and Lisa (Gregory) Porter, his 15 grandchildren, Phillip (Karen) Meyer, Wyatt (Sheila) Meyer, Daren (Angela) Phillips, Rachel (Alex) Waleski, Jenna (Melissa) Phillips, Tyler (Amber) Strub, Nevin Strub, Natalie (Tanner) Wiley, Neal Phillips, Abigail (John) Van Peursem, Rebecca (Curtis) Drozd, Jack Phillips, David (Darcy) Porter, Jamison Porter, and Casey (Colton) Aubin, as well as 19 great grandchildren: Dominic, Thaddeus & Otto Meyer, Elanor Meyer, Booker, Olive & Turner Phillips, Brodie & Kai Waleski, Clayton, Amelia, & Matt Drew, Bella & Eyan Adams, Warner Strub, Ezra & Maya Van Peursem, Ruby, Beau & Libby Drozd, Harrison & Sloane Porter, Emmitt & Camille Porter, and Willow & Porter Aubin.  Clark is also survived by his siblings, Forman (Zlata) Phillips, Herbert (Theresa) Phillips, and Sarah (Bud) Halsey, as well as several nieces and nephews.  He was preceded in death by an infant son, Andrew, his parents, David Bloomingdale Phillips and Dorothy Stillwell Phillips, and his sister Barbara (Warren) Bower.

Born on May 29, 1934 on a dairy farm in Troy, NY, he attended the Belltop School and Columbia High School, graduating as salutatorian.  He received bachelor's and master's degrees from Cornell University, where he was known as "Cy" by his Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity brothers. There he met Sue Streeter from Syracuse, NY and was married on June 16th, 1956.  He worked as an assistant cooperative extension agent in Chenango County until he learned of a 41-cow dairy operation for sale in Western NY in 1958. He was named "Outstanding Young Farmer" of Erie County in 1965 and continued to grow his successful dairy operation over the years, moving the main facilities from Angola to North Collins in 1988.  The business was originally established as "Clue Farms", but renamed "Phillips Family Farm" when his older son, David, joined him in running the business.  He was a long-time member of the local Farm Bureau, holding various leadership roles, and leveraged his many personal and business connections to update his farming techniques and practices to the most modern dairy capabilities.

Sharing his saving faith in Jesus Christ was Clark's highest personal priority.  He was very active in the Fellowship of Christian Farmers, International as a national board member, participating in domestic and international mission trips, and sharing the colored bead story of salvation wherever he could.  He traveled to Russia, Mexico, Honduras, Romania, Florida and throughout New York State to share The Good News.  He and Sue spent several years in "semi-retirement" as missionaries, establishing and managing a dairy operation in Oradea, Romania in support of the Caminul Felix orphanage. He belonged to the First Church of Evans, was a long-time member and served on the board of Full Gospel Tabernacle in Orchard Park, and in his later years was a prominent member of the North Collins Wesleyan Church, serving as a board member and Sunday School teacher, as well as an assistant to the Pastor for a time.  He and Sue regularly opened their home over the years, hosting extended family members, college students, foreign exchange students, Vietnamese and Polish refugees to the US, and even their assistant pastor.  He also shared his talents and knowledge as a docent for the Schoolhouse #8 History Center and Museum in North Collins.

Clark considered himself "One Lucky Guy" in the memoir he penned during the Covid shut down and also "published" a couple booklets of sayings/proverbs.  He was a card-carrying member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, another of his passions, and wrote a book of lesser-known player statistics called "(Almost) All You Ever Wanted to Know About Major League Baseball".

He will be remembered most for bringing many to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior and his ability to lighten any conversation with a quip, pun or joke.

A celebration of life will be held at 3:00 pm on Saturday, October 19th at North Collins Wesleyan Church, 10470 Bantle Rd., North Collins, NY with visitation starting at 1:30 pm.  A meal will follow the celebration at 4:00 pm.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Timothy School in South Sudan via Kids In Crisis, International (kidsincrisis.com), Fellowship of Christian Farmers, International (fcfi.org) or North Collins Wesleyan Church (northcollinschurch.com).