Funeral for Bill Phelps, Friday, December 12, 2026, 1 p.m.
Lynn tells us that the two most important things in Bill's life were his family and his church. Lynn's daughter, Lisa, told her mom when she was 12 that she had won the prize when Lynn married Bill 44 years ago. Bill also adored his two children, Jo Kelly, a well-known artist, and Don Phelps, who followed in Bill's footsteps into the family business, Phelps Fan Company, which sold industrial fans worldwide. Don was the fifth generation in the family business, and now his son, Garrett, will be the sixth. What a legacy of continuity to be part of a family tradition so rare in our world today. Of course, Bill cherished his other two grandchildren, Jay and Keisey, and his five great-grandchildren./
The part of the church that Bill most loved was church music. Bill and Lynn met in the choir at Trinity Cathedral. He was a tenor, and she was an alto. It was a choir romance. They married and later moved to St. Mark's, where they sang in this choir for over 40 years. Bill and Lynn's love for this church and their choral experience are attested to by their wish that any memorials go to the Craig Chotard Music Fund, in honor of the former choir director at St. Mark's. Lynn also asked me to thank Kathy Roberts, who is still an alto in St. Mark's choir, for her great friendship since they moved back to Little Rock. Another story about how a church choir becomes family throughout a lifetime.
Maybe another reason Bill loved the Episcopal church, besides its music, was that we are one of the few churches having three Rogation Days, just before we celebrate Christ's ascension and Rogation Sunday, the sixth Sunday of Easter. These are four days when we say special prayers for farmers and ask for blessings on their crops. I will never forget hearing Ted Glusman, a former rector at St. Mark's, say Bill Phelps was the only farmer who was a Saint Mark's parishioner. This was Bill's other love, his pecan grove. Bill would slip away to the pecan trees south of the airport whenever he could. He was very active in the pecan industry and helped develop machinery and equipment to improve crop yields. Lynn was also involved in the business and was the head cracker. Many of the Phelps' friends were in the pecan business. Bill helped invent a special shaker to shake the pecans out of the trees at just the right time. Lynn and I laughed about that,/ as we decided to say Bill Phelps was a mover and shaker. But if you knew Bill, he was a quiet man with a total dry wit that would always amuse you.
Bill died in his ninety-third year, a non/a/genarian. If you sing in an Episcopal church choir, at least several times a year, you will sing Evensong, a traditional evening sung service of psalms, prayers, and canticles. At Saint Mark's, for Bill and Lynn, it was the Fourth Sunday at Four. Canticles are songs or chants of praise that are from holy scripture or other sacred texts, but not from the Psalms. The two canticles that Bill and Lynn most often sang were from Luke's Gospel: the Magnificat (Song of Mary) and the Nunc Di/mit/tis (Song of Simeon).//
The music we make on earth,/ which passes away in a moment,/is an anticipation, a rehearsal for music that is unending,/ that flows forth forever;/ the music of worship,/ the sound of praise,/ the eternal alleluia.1
Simeon2 was also a faithful, nonagenarian, like Bill. Simeon was a righteous and devout Jewish man waiting for the coming of the Messiah in Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit had revealed that he would not die before seeing the Messiah. Guided by the Holy Spirit, Simeon went to the temple when Mary and Joseph brought the infant Jesus there/ eight days after his birth/ to be named. Simeon recognized Jesus as the promised Savior. Simeon took the child in his arms, blessed God, and proclaimed this beautiful prayer that Bill had sung so many times in his crystal clear tenor voice.
"Lord,/ you now have set your servant free////
to go in peace as you have promised;///
For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior,///
whom you have prepared for all the world to see;///
A Light to enlighten the nations,//
and the glory of your people, Israel.
Glory to the Father,/ and to the Son,/ and to the Holy Spirit,/
As it was in the beginning,/ is now,/ and will be for ever.3 Amen/////
We do believe that these words,// Bill so often sung,// became a reality on Monday of this week. Amen
1Charles Hoffacker, "Life as Music," A Matter of Life and Death, Preaching at Funerals (Cowley 2002) pp. 54-55.
2Luke 2:29-32,
3BCP 120.