Born: 1907
Died: 1971
Married: Betty Wright
Stephen Phillips (In progress)
Born in 1907, Stephen Phillips was a member of a prominent Salem, Massachusetts, family that for many years had been actively involved in the merchant sailing era of Salem that followed the American Revolution.Following his graduation from Harvard in 1929, Stephen went to work in the family office. During those years, he struggled with tuberculosis, often seeking treatment for his ailment, and it was during a stay at Saranac Lake in New York that he met his future bride, Betty Wright, who was seeking a cure for brucellosis. They were brought together by a mutual interest in ham radio and within a short period were married and set up house next door to Stephen’s childhood home at 34 Chestnut Street in Salem. Following their marriage, the two took a great interest in helping students obtain a college education which for many in Salem was not within reach. Mrs. Phillips was particularly interested in assisting students achieve a college education as she personally struggled for years to complete her undergraduate and graduate degrees due to lack of finances and health issues.With Stephen Phillips’s death in 1971, Betty Phillips sought to establish a substantial scholarship fund to help college students with limited financial resources achieve high academic goals. Twenty years after her husband’s death, Mrs. Phillips set in motion what is today the Stephen Phillips Memorial Scholarship Fund. From 1991 until her death in 1996, Mrs. Phillips was personally involved in selecting the scholarship recipients. Since the fund began giving scholarships, more than 3,800 students have been assisted with over $58,000,000 in scholarship grants.In addition to the establishment of the Phillips Scholarship Fund, acting upon her husband’s wishes at the time of his death, Mrs. Phillips opened her husband’s boyhood home to the public.
Jan Dudones writes, “Steve and Betty were close friends of my parents (Ed and Nita Worthington) from their curing days until they passed on. I am sure that my Dad was involved in their interest in ham radio, as Dad was a ham radio operator and sold radio sets. They cured at the McBean cottage. After curing, they came to Saranac Lake for many summers. Steve and Betty adopted 3 girls. After Stephen died, Betty kept on coming here until about a year before she passed on. One of their family homes is open to the public in Salem, Mass. on Chestnut St.
