South Marshall Elementary to name gym after longtime custodian Robert Phillips

FOX23 News at 9 p.m.

MARSHALL COUNTY, Ky. (KBSI) — For nearly two decades, Robert Phillips helped take care of South Marshall Elementary School. But staff members say his impact went far beyond keeping the building clean.

Now, the school plans to make sure future generations know his name by naming its gymnasium in his honor.

Phillips, known around the school as “Mr. Robert,” worked as a custodian at South Marshall Elementary for more than 15 years and had previously worked in maintenance. Principal Brad Darnall said Phillips took pride in the school and formed close relationships with students and staff.

“He worked very hard at it. He took pride in the school looking well. He wanted it to look good. He wanted it to be something to show off,” Darnall said. “But beyond that, it was just his personality and how he connected with the kids. He loved being here at the school. He loved the kids.”

Phillips was diagnosed with cancer and retired Aug. 1 because he knew treatments would keep him away from work more often. Darnall said Phillips did not want to leave, but worried his absences would put additional pressure on the school’s other custodian and staff.

Phillips died Aug. 15, just two weeks after retiring.

“He really did not want to retire, but he loved the school so much that he knew it was what he needed to do,” Darnall said. “Once I get everything taken care of and beat it, he said, then I’m probably going to come back to work.”

Darnall said staff began discussing ways to honor Phillips after his death. They wanted something permanent, but also something that reflected who he was.

The gymnasium quickly became the answer.

Phillips was an avid basketball fan and often listened to games through headphones while working the night shift. He followed the University of Louisville and local high school basketball and frequently asked students about their own games.

“He took really good pride in taking care of the gym, keeping the floor waxed and looking shiny and cleaned up,” Darnall said. “It seemed like a fitting way to honor him — something that he loved, at a place that he loved.”

Phillips’ connection with students extended throughout the building.

Darnall said Phillips regularly carried peppermints in his pockets, and students knew to ask him for one when they saw him in the hallway. Older students also volunteered to help him remove scuff marks from the floors using long sticks fitted with tennis balls.

“The older kids in fourth and fifth grade, they desperately wanted to go help Mr. Robert,” Darnall said. “They loved it because they wanted to help him.”

Staff members remember his sense of humor, too. Darnall said Phillips was known for playing pranks on coworkers, checking in on employees when he arrived for work and stopping by to visit.

But when someone needed help, Darnall said Phillips was often among the first to step forward.

If a staff member experienced a death in the family, Phillips contributed when money was collected. If a student needed something, Darnall said he looked for ways to help.

“He was the first one there to give money,” Darnall said. “He’s the first one that wanted to help the kids, to do something to make sure they had what they needed.”

That relationship extended beyond the school. Darnall said a Facebook post honoring Phillips after his death drew comment after comment from former students, employees and community members sharing memories of him.

Darnall hopes putting Phillips’ name on the gym will keep those stories alive long after the people who knew him personally have left the school.

“Down the road, at some point there’s going to be a kid who goes, ‘Who’s Robert Phillips, and why is this gym named after him?’” Darnall said. “And then that’s going to give an opportunity for someone to go, ‘Oh, let me tell you about Mr. Robert.’”

Darnall said Phillips’ legacy also serves as a reminder that everyone working inside a school has a role in the lives of students.

“We have to always remember that there’s no one job that’s more important than the other, because they all work together for the kids,” Darnall said. “Robert took his job very seriously, but he did it for the kids. He played a huge role in this school just as much as anybody else in this building.”