Stephen Louis Phillips

Stephen Louis Phillips, age seventy-eight, passed away April 11, 2026, at his home. He was the oldest son born to Ludwig and Mary (Staskiewicz) Phillips on February 5, 1948, in Lincoln, Nebraska, and grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. Steve developed a passion for agriculture through FFA and his enjoyment of the outdoors through Boy Scouts. He graduated from Omaha South High School and from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1971 majoring in agricultural engineering. In 1970 he married Linda Schlange at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Auburn, Nebraska. During Steve’s first job after college, a coworker shared the gospel with Steve and he believed in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Later in 1971 they went to Dortmund, Germany, where he worked at Fredrich Utte in the environmental division. They returned to Auburn, Nebraska, in 1974 where Steve began farming with his father-in-law, Ernest, and continued farming for twenty-five years. In 1998 he became a pump engineer at NPPD’s Cooper Nuclear Station. Steve retired in 2008 and became an active part of the Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF).

Steve, by the extraordinary grace of God, loved Jesus Christ with all his heart. He enjoyed praising God with his guitar, spending time with family, fixing mechanical things, reading, exploring history museums, spending time in God’s word, and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with children alongside Linda through CEF Good News Clubs.

He is survived by his wife, Linda; children, Matthew (Marie), and George (Lisset); siblings, Christine (Ben) Bach, Robert, Carl, Suzanne Hall, Mary (Vijay) Israni, and George; grandchildren: Marcus, Anya, Brianna, Lucas, Matilda, Clara, and Angela; multiple nieces and nephews.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Ludwig and Mary Louise (Staskiewicz) Phillips; in-laws, Ernest and Matilda Schlange; sister-in-law, Lynn Phillips; brother-in-law, Glen Krohn; brother-in-law, Charles Van Swol; brother Carl’s long-time friend, Dani; nephew, Jivan Israni.

A funeral service will be held on Monday, April 20, 10:30 a.m. at Grace Bible Fellowship in Stella. Burial will be in St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery at Auburn. Visitation will be at the funeral home Friday, April 17, noon to 8:00 p.m., with family greeting friends from 6:00 to 8:00.

Memorials are suggested to George Phillips's Ministry (CRU) or Child Evangelization Fellowship (Southeast Chapter) with checks made out to Linda Phillips with the designation in the memo line.