Phillip Anthony McCullough Sr. was born on March 15, 1949 in Raleigh, North Carolina. His parents Charles and Louise McCullough preceded him in death. He was a smart man, and a smart child. While he and his brothers would sneak off and play during the day, Phillip would always come home and wash up and sit on the porch with his catechism just in time for his mom to come home. His other brothers and sisters would get into trouble, but not him. Phillip and his other 9 brothers and sisters were known for being tough. He earned the nicknames of Black Evil and Horse Iron Demon and got into more than one fight protecting his brothers and sisters. Many people don’t know that he was kidnapped at knife point while on his paper route as a young boy by a grown man. But he was smart enough to convince the man to let him go and to chase the kidnapper down as a big strong teen. He didn’t catch him though.

Phillip McCullough attended Ligon High School where he met his sweetheart in homeroom at the age of 15, Brenda Marie Smith. They were married in Raleigh on April 15, 1967. Brenda and Phillip had a love story that endured and flourished for over 49 years and were the proud parents of 5 children and the grandparents of 6 grandchildren.

Phillip was always an exceptional student. Even though he earned a presidential scholarship to Morehouse, he stayed home to be close to his new wife and son. He graduated with honors from A&T University in Greensboro, NC with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry. He continued his education in graduate school at Iowa State University for Chemistry.

Phillip was always a hard worker. He began his working career at the tender age of 8, delivering newspapers. Once he graduated from college he flourished in chemical sales at Rohm and Haas in Pennsylvania and Hercules Inc. in Missouri. Phillip wasn’t content to simply work for others, so he struck out on his own as the founder of several businesses, a paint contracting firm in Michigan-McCullough and Gardier Enterprises, another paint contracting firm in Georgia-Paint Technologies and even a dating service in Pennsylvania called Love Connection. Once he returned to North Carolina, he worked in sales at several large car dealerships, Raleigh Toyota, Crossroads Ford and Leith Toyota, where he was also the Business Development Manager. However, Phillip’s greatest accomplishment was his family. Phillip was the quintessential family man. Whether cooking his famous turkey and stuffing on Thanksgiving or making hot chocolate and singing Christmas carols, he never met a holiday he didn’t love. Be it birthdays, super bowls, vacations at the beach, Phillip loved to be with his family.

Phillip will be sorely missed and his memories will be treasured by his wife, Brenda McCullough, Clayton; his children: Phillip McCullough Jr. (Lorraine), Clayton, Ron McCullough, Raleigh, Christal DeCastro, Clayton, Chad McCullough, Durham, Afton Evans (Jeff), Clayton; his grandchildren: Phillip McCullough III, Brianna McCullough, Jeffrey Evans III, Joseph Evans, Ronen DeCastro, Amber Evans; his siblings: Alfreda Bigsby, James McCullough, Van McCullough, Lloyd McCullough, (5 siblings preceded him in death: Charles Jr., Judy, Phyllis, Vincent, Gordon); and many devoted nieces, nephews, and a host of other relatives and friends.