Ione Phillips

   THE PLAINS--Ione Phillips, 86 of The Plains, Ohio, passed away peacefully with her daughter by her side at Doctors Hospital on September 22, 2025. 

   Ione was born Willa Ione Dellinger on October 14, 1938, in Cordele, Georgia. She was the daughter of Chesley and Willa (Sanborn) Dellinger. She grew up in Americus, Georgia, and excelled in school. She graduated from Americus High School on June 4, 1956, with the top grade in English. She continued her education, graduating from the University of Georgia in 1960, and was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. She was a talented writer and spent her life writing. She started her career in Nashville, Tennessee, writing for the Baptist Sunday School Board. She went on to become a reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In 1969, she moved to Washington, D.C. and started working for the State and Land-Grant University Foundation, followed by the American Vocational Association. 

   During the years she excelled in her career, she also managed a home and invested her full time as a single parent in raising her children, Mark, Dan, and Lisa. She would always say she had a great co-parent, but the bulk of the day-to-day challenges of raising three free-range 80s kids fell to her. She was a room mother, Girl Scout leader, and volunteered her time whenever she could. 

   She retired to Bethany Beach, Delaware, in 1998, where she continued to write as a freelancer. and became an active member of her community. She joined her local AARP chapter and served as president. She started their annual Artisan’s Fair, a yearly event that to date has raised thousands of dollars for scholarships given to graduating local seniors. She moved to Athens, Ohio in 2017 and continued to volunteer her time with The Dairy Barn and Athens Friends and Newcomers (AFAN) 

   She had many hobbies. She loved reading and was always a member of book clubs. She attended her final book club the month before her death. She was a great lover of the beach, gardening, art, travel, and fine cuisine. 

   She is survived by her son Mark Phillips (Barb Bronson), her daughter Lisa Wood (Steve), her brother Harry Dellinger (Becky) and her seven grandchildren, Amber Phillips, Rachel Wood, Jacob Phillips, Cassidy Wood, Hunter Wood (Andy Veladota), Madison Phillips and Emily Phillips as well as the mothers of four of her grandchildren Julie Shilling (Steve) and Janet Phillips. 

   She was predeceased by her beloved son, Dan Phillips, and her parents. Her ex-husband and father of her three children, Don Phillips, passed one day after her on September 23, 2025. 

   Services will be held at Hughes Funeral Home at 168 Morris Ave. Athens, Ohio, on Saturday, October 4th at 3:00 p.m.