PHILLIPS - GARREWTT - KRIZ FAMILIES

by Lyle and Twila Phillips

Entry F334 from the History of Hooker County Nebraska
with permission of the Hooker County Historical Society

The Lyle Phillips Family, 1987. Lyle, Twila, Kyle, Casey, Carrie.

Lyle Duane Phillips was born 1956
at Valentine, NE, the fourth of seven children
of Lynn and Joellen Loudon Phillips. By the
time of his birth, an older sister and brother
has passed away, so Lyle grew up as one of
a family of five children. The first 5 years of
his life were spent on the ranch of his
grandfather, Clarence Phillips, 10 miles
north of Mullen, Nebraska. In the spring of
1961 his parents moved to Mullen, and Lyle
enrolled in the Hooker County School system
the following fall. He graduated from Mullen
High School in May of 1974. Lyle was always
active in sports and participated in football,
basketball, track and golf during his school
years. During his younger years, Lyle deliv-
ered the Omaha World Herald ewspaper to
the south half of the Village of Mullen, and
with the money he saved from his paper route
he purchased two yearling heifers from his
grandfather, and thus began his cattle herd.
He then helped his grandfather on the ranch
during the summer to pay the pasture bill on
his cattle. Upon completion of high school,
Lyle went into the ranching business with his
father. In the slack seasons of the year, Lyle
worked at different jobs in the area, some of
which included custom corn picking, railroad
salvage work, highway construction, house
shingling, and cattle work. His hobbies
include fishing and hunting.

James Henry Garrett was born December
2, 1852 in Fannon County, Georgia, and
married Alice Elizabeth Hamm who was born
March 2, 1858 in Barry County, Missouri. He
served as Hooker County Superintendent for
27 years. She passed away November 23, 1933
at Lewellen, Nebraska and he followed her in
death June 6, 1935. They are both buried at
the Cedar View Cemetery in Mullen and
several of their descendants still reside in the
area. Their son, Roy Creed Garrett was born
in Springtown, but now called Little Rock,
Arkansas on March 16, 1885 and married Alta
May Walker who was born in Hebron,
Nebraska July 9, 1894. They were married
April 13, 1914 in Cherry County, and lived on
the old Andrew Johnson place approximately
20 miles north of Mullen. Their daughter,
Eloise, who was born December 26, 1917 and
died February 5, 1918, is buried in the Dry
Valley Cemetery about 16 miles northwest of
Mullen. They had eight children, and another
of their daughters, Hazel Ester, was born in
Mullen in 1919 and married Glen Henry
Homrighausen. They later moved to a ranch
8 miles south of Crawford, Nebraska.

Twila Fay Kriz, the daughter of Leonard
and Lois Homrighausen Kriz and the grand-
daughter of Glen Henry and Hazel Garrett
Homrighausen, was born 1958
in Alliance, Nebraska, the second of three
children. She grew up on her grandparent
Homrighausen ranch 8 miles south of Craw-
ford and attended the Belmont School
through the 8th grade. She attended Craw-
ford High School the next four years and was
active in track, band, Future Business Lead-
ers of America and on the Pon Pom team. She
was president of the National Honor Society
and listed in Who's Who Among American
High School Students', and attended Girls
State. Upon graduation in the spring of 1977,
Twila enrolled in Chadron State College, and
graduated from college with a Bachelor of
Arts degree in Biology in 1980. While in
college, she was elected to the Alpha Phi
Sigma fraternity and was active in Tri-Beta.

Lyle Phillips and Twila Kriz were married
in the United Methodist Church in Alliance,
Nebraska on May 25, 1979. Twila attended
summer school that summer, and Lyle
worked for the Chadron Sale Barn, and the
following winter both attended Chadron
State College. Lyle continued working for the
sale barn on a part time basis during the
school year. Following Twila's graduation
from college the next spring they moved to
his father's ranch north of Mullen and that
fall their son, Casey Duane Phillips, was born
at the Chadron Community Hospital on
1980. Lyle and Twila became
members of the Mullen United Methodist
Church on Memorial Day, 1982 and continue
to be active in that church. In the spring of
1983, they bought Lyle's fathers cattle and
leased part of his ranch. Carrie Nicole was
born 1983 and Kyle James joined
the family on 1986.

Lyle studied artificial insemination of
cattle at Chadron State College and AI's his
own cattle as well as custom AI'ing. He is the
area representative for American Breeders
Service, is serving as the chairman of the
Coop Board of Directors, is secretary of the
Hooker County Fair Board, and serves on the
Middle Loup NRD Board as well as being on
the Hooker County Centennial Planning
Committee. Twila is secretary-treasurer of
the United Methodist Church in Mullen.
They live on the place that originally be-
longed to Lyle's grandfather, Clarence Phil-
lips, and their home is located 10 miles
northeast of Mullen, in Cherry County, NE.