Bennington Cemetery

Bennington, Bryan County, Oklahoma

© Holmes Coffey Murray Funeral Service
Submitted by: Terry Dudley

Delois Jean "Dee" Cox Phillips

September 12, 1953 ~ July 19, 2025

Our beloved Mama, Delois Jean "Dee" Phillips of Durant, Oklahoma, passed from this life on July 19, 2025, at the age of 7, when, quite simply, coffee could no longer sustain her.

Born on September 12, 1953, in Escondido, California, to James and Doilless Cox, she brought humor, grit, and heart into every room she entered. We're certain her parents, along with her husband Keith, were waiting at the pearly gates, arms open and coffee brewing, to welcome her home.

Dee was a woman of many titles: daughter, sister, wife, Mama, Omo, friend, and legend. Affectionately known as "Omo" by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, she led an adventurous and eclectic professional life "working as everything from a waitress to a security guard" and never stopped learning. A voracious reader and fierce conversationalist, she had a talent for inserting wildly inappropriate humor at even more wildly inappropriate times, and she wore that gift proudly.

She had strong preferences. She didn't love onions in potato salad, being interrupted mid-story, or anything that came from Starbucks. But oh, how much more she loved.

She loved Keith Phillips "the love of her life and the bravest man in the world," who married her and inherited four daughters in the process. She adored that he did the grocery shopping, the laundry, and most of all, that he rarely interrupted her while she was spinning one of her famously long stories. They were made for each other, and she missed him deeply after his passing in 2009.

She loved her children "Who while occasionally working her last nerve" knew how deeply proud she was of them, even when they only managed basic tasks. Her children include:

Leah Bennett, Kristi Gaskill and husband Mike, Liz Ellis and husband Brandon, Amanda Gage and husband Josh, Dilan Phillips and wife Meghan.

Mama leaves behind the true jewels in her crown, her grandchildren and great-grandchildren:

Cole Gaskill and wife Jennifer, Jaceton, Maddyx, and Finnyk Gage, Carlee Bennett, Brayden Roberts, Logan and Ashton Ellis, Daniel Wiggs, Kale Bruce, Dawsyn and Leightyn Phillips, Allie Tucker, and Hendricks Gaskill.

Each of them knew exactly how loved they were by their Omo, who never missed an opportunity to spoil them with candy, cookies, haircuts by each other, and unconditional love.

In her later years, Dee shared a home, and endless laughter, with her sister Julie Rorick. Their daily life was something out of a "Laverne and Shirley" episode, complete with hidden bowls of candy, lost glasses, and cheering when they were finally found. Julie will miss her partner in mischief terribly.

Known as "Aunt Loisie," she also left a lasting mark on her nephew Josh Rorick, his partner Tanya, and his children, who adored her.

Dee was unapologetically herself. She didn't mince words, didn't suffer fools, and lived with unmatched authenticity. Her laughter, loyalty, and wild spirit will live on in the many stories she left behind, and the many more we'll tell in her honor.

Funeral service is planned for Wednesday, July 23, 2025 at the Holmes-Coffey-Murray Chapel in Durant, Oklahoma at 10:00AM. Family hour will be Tuesday night from 5-7:00PM at the Funeral Home. Burial will immediately follow in the Bennington Cemetery in Bennington, Oklahoma..