Ara Revonda Phillips Hale

June 30, 1962 – October 16, 2026

Ara Revonda Phillips Hale, 64, of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, passed away on October 16, 2026.

Revonda was born June 30, 1962, in Hickory, North Carolina, to James Bonard Phillips and Alice Priscilla Phillips. She was also blessed with a loving stepmother, Faye Phillips.

On July 4, 1980, Revonda married the love of her life, Russell Edgar Hale. For more than 46 years, they shared a life together and built the family that would become her greatest source of pride.

Revonda was the mother of Matthew Lloyd Hale and Candace Dawn Atkinson (Shawn). One of the greatest joys of her life was being “Nanny.” Her grandchildren were Andrew Michael Hale (Gage Shelton), Gabrielle Katarina Atkinson (Drake Henderson), Alicia Brooke Atkinson (Tristan Gonzalez), Zoe Grace Atkinson, Luke Baccus Atkinson, and Trevor Carroll. She was also blessed to become a great-grandmother to Armani Romero Gonzalez and Clementine Grace Henderson.

Revonda worked as an accountant for Covenant Health, but many who knew her will also remember her for her incredible creativity and love of crafting. She had a gift for making beautiful things with her hands, often creating something special for someone she loved. Those handmade treasures now hold even more meaning for the people fortunate enough to have them.

She had a wonderful sense of humor and loved sharing dad jokes, even when they earned more groans than laughs. She was a funny Nanny who loved making her family laugh, and the stories, jokes, and memories she gave them will be treasured for years to come.

Above all, Revonda loved the Lord with all her heart. Her faith was an important part of who she was and remained a source of strength throughout her life. It carried her through her battle with cancer and the difficult days that came with it. Cancer became part of the final chapter of Revonda’s life, but it never defined her. She will be remembered for her faith, her creativity, her humor, and the tremendous love she had for her family.

Revonda is survived by her husband, Russell Edgar Hale; her mother, Alice Priscilla Phillips; her stepmother, Faye Phillips; her children, Matthew Lloyd Hale and Candace Dawn Atkinson (Shawn); her grandchildren, Andrew Michael Hale (Gage Shelton), Gabrielle Katarina Atkinson (Drake Henderson), Alicia Brooke Atkinson (Tristan Gonzalez), Luke Baccus Atkinson, and Trevor Carroll; her great-grandchildren, Armani Romero Gonzalez and Clementine Grace Henderson; and her brothers, James Allan Phillips, William Darrell Phillips (Jeanne), Brian Keith Phillips, and Daniel Ray Phillips (Amy).

She was preceded in death by her father, James Bonard Phillips; her sister-in-law, Julie Phillips; and her granddaughter, Zoe Grace Atkinson.

Revonda leaves behind far more than names and dates. She leaves handmade treasures that will be held a little tighter, jokes that will still make her family laugh, stories that will be told again and again, and countless memories of a wife, Mom, and Nanny who was deeply loved.

There will never be enough words to capture an entire lifetime or explain what Revonda meant to those who loved her. Her family finds peace in knowing that the faith she held so closely throughout her life has brought her home to the Lord she loved with all her heart. For them, this is not goodbye forever. It is simply goodbye until they meet again.

The family will receive friends on Thursday, October 22, 2026, from 3:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. at Holley Gamble Funeral Home, 621 S. Charles G. Seivers Blvd., Clinton, Tennessee. The funeral service will follow at 5:00 p.m.