SALAMANCA — Three months after their untimely deaths, Michael and Donna Phillips will be memorialized Saturday by the Salamanca community with a plaque dedication ceremony.
On March 17, a ceremony honoring the lives of the Phillipses will take place at 3 p.m. in the gymnasium at Prospect Elementary School, where Donna had served more than 40 years as secretary.
The couple was struck and killed Dec. 15, 2017, while crossing the street on their way to the Salamanca Town Hall. In November, Michael Phillips had been elected to his third term as supervisor, and his wife, Donna, had been elected town clerk.
Spearheading the process to have the plaque made was Tim Jackson, who succeeded Michael Phillips as town supervisor after a special election in January.
The plaque was paid for by donations collected by volunteers and from donations sent to the Salamanca Town Board. Jackson said he informed all the neighbors along Route 353 in the town about their plans for the plaque.
“I’m very pleased with the response we received,” he said. “Over $1,200 in donations.”
After coming up with the idea, Jackson said he approached the Phillipses’ son to get his approval to have it made. Once he discussed it with the town board, Jackson went to work designing the plaque, which went through a few different looks before the final design was decided on.
“They came up with the photograph of the two of them dancing, which was absolutely perfect,” he explained. “It was the two of them together, which changed the plaque from his picture on one side and her’s on the other to the one it is now.”
Although he shopped around a few different options for how to have the plaque made, Jackson decided on the hometown choice of Mongillo Jewelers on Main Street.
“It took about five weeks to get it all done, which is why the timing for the ceremony is now,” he said.
Saturday’s ceremony is open for the public to join the family and friends of the Phillipses, Jackson said. Some special guests and plans for the ceremony are in the works, but nothing has been set yet, he said.
During the ceremony, attendees are welcome to share any stories or memories of Michael and Donna. Jackson said refreshments may also be provided.
With more donated than the $550 it cost to have the plaque made, Jackson said the town plans to use what’s leftover for a sign recognizing Michael Phillips for initiating a new town building for storage.
“We would erect it either on or next to the building,” he said. “And then any money left over will go to the Salamanca Public Library as a dedication in their name.”
The plaque will be on display until 4 p.m. Immediately following the ceremony, it will then be hung in the Salamanca Town Hall on the Center Street Extension, Route 353. Jackson said they plan to display it front and center below the clock in the main area.
“It’ll be in the center of the building in front where everybody can see it as they come in the door,” he said.
The dedication ceremony honoring the Phillipses will take place from 3 to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 17 in the Prospect Elementary School gymnasium.
(Contact reporter Kellen Quigley at kquigleysp@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter, @Kellen_Quigley)