Andrew C. “Andy” Phillips

PHILLIPSAndrew C. “Andy” age 53, on May 31, 2020 of Chester Springs, PA.After a hard fought, brave battle with COVID-19, Andy passed away peacefully with his family by his side at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania on May 31, 2020 at the age of 53. Sadly, he leaves behind the love of his life, his wife, Trish Phillips (nee McDonough); their daughter Grace Phillips; and their sons Colin, Aidan and Andrew Phillips. He is also survived by his beloved mother, Joan Phillips (nee Powers), his treasured sister, Donna Karsnick, and her son, Brandon Karsnick (nee Phillips). He is preceded in death by his father, Donald Phillips, who also tragically lost his battle to COVID-19 on April 28, 2020. Andy was born on May 23, 1967 in Drexel Hill, PA. He grew up playing basketball, football, and baseball. Andy went to Upper Darby High School where he excelled in the classroom and on his varsity teams. After high school, Andy attended and graduated from Drexel University in 1990, achieving honors in a double major of Finance and Marketing. He was also a proud member of the Greek chapter Tau Kappa Epsilon. Andy married the love of his life, Trish, on November 18, 1995. They will be married 25 years this fall and have shared a beautiful love story. Together, they have raised their four beautiful children in Chester County, PA. Andy was a doting husband and devoted father. The center of Andy’s world was Trish and the children. He loved being an active part of the children’s lives whether it was coaching their basketball teams, attending every one of their games and cheering with passion from the sidelines. Andy adored his many friends and enjoyed spending time with them whether at a favorite restaurant or cheering on his favorite Philadelphia Eagles after a fun tailgate with life-long friends. He cherished his special beach days on 58th Street in Ocean City, NJ with his family. Andy was a fabulous cook and recently started growing vegetables and herbs in a neighborhood garden. A perfect night for Andy was creating a special meal with his family and enjoying a cocktail with Trish. Andy also loved a great concert and shared a passion for all music. He was an avid dog lover as well, and adored his labs-Seamus, Doolin and Phoebe. Over 20 years ago, when Trish and Andy were young parents, Andy was diagnosed with an advanced form of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. He heroically beat the cancer battling through his chemo, radiation and challenging treatments. His oncologist, Dr. Sandy Schnall of BHM and radiation oncologist, Dr. Eli Glatstein of Penn, remained his lifelong physicians and close friends. Andy was a classically trained sales person, who excelled early in his career and quickly advanced to executive leadership roles in sales and business development. After positions at Johnsonville and Bongrain Cheese USA, Andy was recruited to Franklin Foods, Inc. His career afforded him the opportunities to visit many places throughout the world including Japan, South Korea, Germany and France. Not only did the people he worked with love him, he loved being with them and travelling to see him. Later, Andy leveraged his passion and expertise within the food space to launch his own consulting company, Excel Food Group. At Excel, Andy was able to put his clients first and help them develop unique and personalized financial and operational solutions enabling them to meet marketplace challenges and grow their businesses. The passion for success with his companies and for his clients was always the priority to everyone he came in contact with. Andy was thoughtful, full of energy and smart. He was very respected by his colleagues and customers. Andy spent a lot of time on planes as he was a big believer in face to face interactions. With all his career success and drive, there was one thing that he would not let his career interfere with: his family and children’s athletic activities. He did everything he could to find ways to make it home to attend as many events and games as possible. This was “non-negotiable” for Andy.We are so grateful to all who have supported Andy and his family through his two-month heroic battle in the ICU with COVID-19. Whether it was the countless prayers shared, delicious meals delivered, or the many acts of kindness displayed; we are so thankful. To the brave frontline staff at Chester County Hospital and at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, thank you for doing all you could to help Andy. We will never forget your tireless compassionate care. Even though, as a family, we were not able to visit Andy for most of his time spent in the hospital due to the visitor restrictions that came along with the virus, we never felt he was alone because of your amazing dedication to his healing. Andy’s “Celebration of Life” will be held on a future date due to the current Covid19 funeral limitations. We will make certain to inform every one of the date, time and location when available so that we can celebrate and honor Andy’s life together. In lieu of flowers, we ask that you please make contributions to the GoFundMe established for the family. These funds will be donated in Andy’s memory to help support Trish and the children through this tragic loss, and to help with their ongoing education. This fund was created at the beginning of his illness and can be found here at the following link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/n3x9xv-believe-in-miracles?member=&utm_medium=email&utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_email%2BinvitesupportersTo know Andy Phillips was to love Andy Phillips. He will be forever treasured and never forgotten.