"Live now; make now always the most precious time, for now will never come again." —Capt. Jean-Luc Picard  "Inner Light"

Mrs. Ora Rose Phillips, RN, of Elkhart, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Friday, November 05, 2021 in the comfort of her own home. She was born October 13, 1960 in Harlan, Kentucky to the late Mildred (Cole) Brock Merritt and William (Cathy) Brock of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She married the love of her life Scott Phillips right out of high school where she was part of the color guard in the marching band and remained faithful to him for over 42 wonderful years, although she made it perfectly clear to Scott that if he passed away first, she was promptly going to marry Trace Adkins. Being the family's "Mama Bear" was a full-time, loving activity which Ora carried out well, and being her hubby's sweetheart and "wild-child" always made her happy. "I love you to the moon and back" was the phrase that everyone shared with everyone else because it best described the level of love that permeated the Phillips family.

Along with Scott, Ora is survived by her son Brock H. Phillips of Elkhart; her daughters Shatum C. (Jeremy) Rorie of Elkhart, Scotlan C. (Ryan) Sellers of Bremen and Mahaley M. P. (Cole) Gribbins of South Bend; brothers Randy (Pam) Brock of Elkhart and Leander Brock of Spokane, Washington and grandchildren Chloe Deppe, Charlie and Charlotte Rorie, Kassius, Elliot and Rylan Sellers, Rose and Lilly Phillips, Hunter Stewart and Harley Gribbins. Additionally, Ora is survived by a host of loving extended family and good friends.

Billings Funeral Home and Cremation Services of Elkhart is hosting Ora's celebration of life services on Friday, November 12, 2021 at 1:00 pm, with visitation beginning an hour prior at 12 noon. Pastor Jeremy Sarber will officiate Ora's services and burial will follow at Prairie Street Cemetery in Elkhart.

Ora was an elementary school nurse for Concord Southside at the time of her passing but had worked as an RN for years in several Michiana area medical and nursing facilities. However, her REAL love was her family, children and grandchildren; and she simply absorbed herself in them. Family always came first to Ora, and she always added that you didn't have to be blood to be family. In fact, she took this concept seriously, and she and Scott raised many foster children throughout the years as well.

As you may have already guessed, Ora loved her life deeply and lived each minute to its absolute fullest. She adored lilacs, daisies and MG midget sportscars, and was known to lose herself on the open road in her blue MG, jamming to The Cars without a care in the world. She was also a HUGE Trekkie (Star Trek Fan) , especially Star Trek: The Next Generation, and would attend conventions just to catch a glimpse of the dreamy Jonathan Frikes as Commander Will Ryker or even the "holy grail" of Star Trek-dom; a photograph of William Shatner, which Ora though she pulled off one time, but once home she discovered she had only captured an image of his feet. We just can't understand why she picked Trace Adkins as her spare husband and not Capt. Jean-Luc Picard. "Make it so, Number One!"

Ora was also a big animal lover as well and fostered many animals over the years with dogs being her favorite. She loved her dogs and had seven of them when she passed. We suppose she loved horses too, but everyone in the family would say that she wouldn't get within 10 feet of one. She also had an eclectic musical taste, and enjoyed everything from, well, Trace Adkins to B.B. King, whose concert she recently attended in South Bend. She was also a prolific reader.

Memorial donations may be given to the charity of one's choice. Friends and relatives are encouraged to read the entire obit and leave condolences, memories and/or pictures of Ora by clicking "Tribute Wall" on her obituary page on the funeral home's website and then following the prompts.

"It's a far, far better thing I do than I have ever done before. A far better resting place that I go to than I have ever known."                                                                                                                                                                            —Capt. James Tiberius Kirk  "The Wrath of  Khan"