“My head is injured and my heart is sick.” (Isaiah 1:5).
My last published story on this website was nearly three months ago (August 20). I have had writer’s cramps.
I have a pretty good excuse. My baby brother has been dying.
On August 20, Sue and I ventured up to Atlanta to see how Danny was doing. He was having to make big decisions about treatment for his failing heart. The family talked and prayed.
A massive heart attack nearly killed him in December 2008. Another heart attack five years ago was a concern. And then this year, he ended up in the hospital three times with episodes of falling- caused by something called orthostatic hypotension.
On August 29, I got the call that Danny was back in the hospital. I returned to Atlanta for what I believed would be a couple of days. Instead, it became a twenty-two-day hospital ordeal. Heart failure was severe, and all the options were on the table. Frustration with hospitals and doctors and nurses, hospital food, Atlanta traffic, and election cycle advertisements on TV put me on the point of breaking. The ‘good news’ was that Danny got a second opinion on Day 22 from a new set of doctors that confirmed that he was a candidate for a heart transplant. We rejoiced with the good news that his old failing and unrepairable heart could be taken out and replaced with a new heart. I will resist the temptation to preach that sermon now- it will come later.
But…… on October 24, I got a text from his wife Barbara. Danny was back in the hospital again with pneumonia. Then another text that he had pulmonary fibrosis. Then another that he had Addison’s disease. The heart transplant was off the table. So, back to Atlanta.
Danny went from the hallway of a busy emergency room (ER) to a regular medical room, then an Intermediary Care Medical Unit (ICMU), and finally an Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
The end came mercifully on October 31, 2024, at 4:30 pm. His wife Barbara and all three children surrounded him as he went to heaven. Plus his big brother.
My writer’s cramp was broken when I was designated as the one to write the Obituary. It has made me realize that there are many things to be done before death to ease the pain on the family. Writing your obituary should be on the list.
So here it is……. and I have to thank my dear little brother for helping me. If you read the blog referenced below from Danny, you will realize that he was not only a better preacher than me but a better writer too. I suspect his first favor in heaven may have been a simple request to help his big brother with his writer’s cramps. So here ya go…….
OBITUARY FOR MARK DANIEL “DANNY” PHILPOT
Danny Philpot (1953 - 2024)
“My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.” (Psalms 57:7 KJV)
Danny Philpot was born in Lexington, Kentucky on January 6, 1953. He passed to his heavenly home at age 71 on October 31, 2024, surrounded by the family he loved so much.
Surviving family includes his loving wife, Barbara Davis Philpot, Alpharetta, Georgia; three children, Micah Daniel Philpot of Lexington, Ky; Mary Philpot Wortz (Gary) of Lexington, Ky; Parker Judson Philpot (Allie) of Marietta, Ga; and four grandchildren, Peyton Renee Wortz, Brayden Thomas Wortz, Sadie Meschell Philpot and Mable Grace Philpot; and one brother, Timothy Philpot (Susan) of Loxley, Ala. Danny is preceded in death by his parents, Ford R. Philpot and Virginia Robinson Philpot.
Danny’s wife Barbara was the romance and love of his life for thirty-seven years. It was impossible to think of Danny without Barbara. His happiest days on earth were the days when his children were born. His pride and joy Micah in 1974, and then the little girl he wanted so much, Mary in 1976, and finally his baby boy Parker in 1990. And then grandchildren Peyton, Brady, Sadie, and Mabel. He loved them all to the end.
He had the best of both worlds as an Alabama football fan, a Kentucky basketball fan, and an Atlanta Braves fan. Hunting, fishing, and golf were life-long passions.
Danny graduated from Tates Creek High School in 1971, where he was president of his Senior class and a football and baseball star. He then attended Asbury College (B.A. 1975) and Asbury Theological Seminary (M. Div.1978), and later received a Doctor of Ministry degree from Columbia Theological Seminary.
Danny’s life was largely influenced by a profound experience of salvation through Jesus Christ as a high school junior at age 17 and almost immediately began a career in ministry. His nickname on the football team was “Rev”, and his passion for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ never really stopped.
He pastored Methodist churches in Kentucky while still in college and seminary, and then, upon graduation at age 25, he was selected to be the founding pastor of Christ United Methodist Church in Lexington, Kentucky. The church opened in the Fayette Mall Cinema in July 1978, and quickly became a church home for over five hundred people. Danny also preached as an evangelist around the United States and Zaire, Africa with his father, Ford Philpot in the 1980’s.
In 1986, Danny moved to the Atlanta area, where he continued in his pastoral role at Mt. Pisgah UMC, Oglethorpe UMC, and Christ UMC in Roswell, Georgia. Danny retired as a United Methodist pastor after twenty-five years and went into the business world with Olan Mills, but his ministry continued and even flourished as the Chaplain of the American Legion Post #201. His friends at the Legion became his best and final congregation.
In 2009, Danny survived a massive heart attack which led him to start a blog called Fixed Hearts (fixedhearts.blogspot.com). He loved to tell the story of his ‘near-death experience’ to anyone who would listen about his personal encounter with Jesus on the other side. Jesus sent him back to Georgia, knowing that there was more work to be done on earth. Just like King Hezekiah, Danny heard a similar voice: “I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will add fifteen years to your life.” (Isaiah 38:5). His last fifteen years were a fruitful testimony to the grace of God and the reality of Heaven for Danny.
In lieu of flowers, condolence gifts may be sent to a charity founded by Danny’s father in 1959. “Fishhook International” actively supports Missions and Evangelism in India: Fishhook International (www.fishhook.org), P.O. Box 910691, Lexington, Kentucky 40591-00691.
On Friday, November 8, 2024 at 2pm, a Service of Celebration will be conducted at Alpharetta Methodist Church, 69 N. Main Street, Alpharetta, Georgia 30009 with Rev. Warren Lathem presiding.
Below is a video of the One Hour Memorial Service. It is worth your time. His pastor friend Warren Lathem preached. His best childhood friend Ben Ferrell sang “Pass It On” and “The Savior is Waiting”, bringing back memories from the 1970’s when Danny and Ben thought they might be famous someday. And the title for my eulogy was simply “The Power of a Little Brother”. I will write more on that subject later.