Elbert Ozell Phillips

Elbert Ozell Phillips, age 83, of Long Beach, passed away on Sunday, February 16, 2025.

Mr. Phillips was born on March 1, 1941 in Jones County, MS and had been a resident of the coast most of his life. He was a member of the Long Beach Church of Christ and was a Sunday School teacher for many years. Mr. Phillips was strong in his faith and went on several mission trips to Grenada. He loved the Lord first, then his “Sweetiebee”.

Mr. Phillips was a scuba diver, search and rescue diver, and diver instructor. In the early 1980’s, he owned Philco Construction and ONE Transport in Gulfport. After Hurricane Katrina, he built ethanol plants and worked on pipelines.

Mr. Phillips was preceded in death by his parents, Ozell and Eva Brooks Phillips; son, Bruce Phillips; granddaughter, Ariana Phillips; and brother, Stanford Phillips.

Survivors include his wife, Ola Dell Benefield Phillips of Long Beach; son, Brian Phillips of Orange Grove; step-sons, Anthony Murray of Gulfport and Geoffrey Neal Murray of Columbus; brother, James Michael Phillips (Wanda) of Gulfport; 9 grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.

The family would like to give a special thank you to the St. Joseph Hospice staff for their compassion and care given to Elbert in his final days.

Memorials may be made to Long Beach Church of Christ, 200 North Cleveland Avenue, Long Beach, MS 39560 for the Lads to Leaders program or to the Gulf Coast Bible Camp, 120 Bible Camp Road, Lucedale, MS 39452.

A memorial Service will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, February 22, 2025 at the Long Beach Church of Christ, where friends may visit beginning at 10:30 a.m. Bradford-O’Keefe Funeral Home, 15th Street, Gulfport is honored to serve the Phillips family.