Rosemary McPhillips

Rosemary McPhillips, 94, of Silver Spring, MD, formerly of Suffern, NY and Nyack, NY, died on May 19. Born on March 31, 1927 in Kansas City, MO, to Joseph Vincent Quigley and Rosemary Cannon Quigley, Rosemary graduated Georgian Court College in NJ in 1948 and embarked on a career in the Golden Age of television at the NBC Television Network, with stints on Philco-Goodyear Playhouse, Caesar’s Hour, and Four Star and All-Star Revues featuring Danny Thomas and Martha Raye.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Rosemary worked as a radio news reporter for WRKL in Pomona, NY; Public Information Officer for the Pearl River, NY, School District; and Executive Secretary of the Rockland County School Boards Association before moving to the corporate world as Marketing Communications Manager for Materials Research Corporation/Sony, from which she retired in 1992. She earned an M.S. degree in Communications Arts from Iona College at the age of 63 in 1990.

Rosemary was an active volunteer throughout her life, most recently as a lector at Our Lady of Grace and St. Patrick’s Church in Silver Spring, and as a reader for the blind at Washington EAR. She previously served on the boards of the Friends of the Nyacks and Hopper House Art Center in Nyack and was a long-time lector and soup kitchen volunteer at Church of the Presentation in Upper Saddle River, NJ.

Rosemary was preceded in death by her former husband, Hugh McPhillips, brothers Bernard, James, and Leonard Quigley, and sister-in-law, Connie Quigley. She is survived by her children Maureen McPhillips Allen (Michael) of Denver, CO; Dr. Brian (Janice) McPhillips of Hingham, MA; Michael (Terri) McPhillips of Columbus, OH; and Anne-Marie McPhillips (Ralph Quintanilla) of North Potomac, MD; grandchildren Jennifer McPhillips, Brendan Allen, Colin McPhillips, Michelle McPhillips, Julian Allen, Denis McPhillips, Casey Quintanilla, Emily McPhillips, and Halle Quintanilla; and many cousins, nieces, and nephews.

A funeral mass will be held on June 4, 2021 at 1:00 p.m. at Our Lady of Mercy in Potomac, MD; followed by a reception for friends and family and private burial at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Silver Spring, MD.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Rosemary’s name may be made to the Voice of the Faithful, PO Box 423, Newton Upper Falls, MA 02464 or donations@votf.org; and/or to The Metropolitan Washington EAR, Inc., 12061 Tech Road, Silver Spring, MD 20904.