Phillip Jerome Reilly, age 86, of Edgerton, died, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, at Beloit Memorial Hospital. He was born in Porter township on Jan. 24, 1936, the son of James Michael and Cora Alice (Ford) Reilly, the youngest of eleven. He was a 1954 graduate of Edgerton High School. He was later drafted into the US Army. He served until 1959 when he returned home to help on the family farm. Phil married Jean Margory Anderson on Nov. 28, 1959, and together they had six children.

Phil was well known for his mechanical skills fixing anything with a motor including cars, trucks, tractors, lawn mowers, etc.… He was a AMPI field inspector, welder, certified air conditioning and refrigeration repairman, bartender, meat cutter, and enjoyed farming. Throughout his life he spent many hours on tractors; plowing, planting, and harvesting for family and friends. Nearing his retirement, Phil built himself an oversized garage with a large workshop area for doing what he loved, working on motors. For much of his life, he also enjoyed fall hunting: pheasant and deer. For many years, he and a group of friends spent a week deer hunting in Rhinelander. He went mostly for the camaraderie. Phil was also very proud of his Farmall C tractor which was used in many fields in the area; planting and harvesting tobacco.

He is survived by wife, Jean: 5 children: Helen (Tyronne) Furrow, Jerome (Colleen) Reilly, Karen Reilly, James Reilly, and John (Julie) Reilly; his grandchildren: Patrick, Maddi, Zane and Katy; step-granddaughter Misty Allen and her children: Marlee, Nani, Tinsley, and Reilly. Phil was uncle to sixty-four nieces and nephews, a father figure to many over the years. He was preceded in death by his parents; his beloved daughter, Julie Ann Reilly; siblings and spouses: Vern (Dorothy) Reilly, James (Pauline) Reilly, Paul (Katherine) Reilly, Dorothy (Don) Nettum, Earl (Ruth) Reilly, Catherine (Don) Deegan, George Reilly, Joseph Reilly, Helen Reilly, and Raymond (Nola) Reilly.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 3, 2022, at ST. JOSEPH CATHOLIC CHURCH, Edgerton with Father David Wanish officiating. Burial will follow in Fulton Cemetery. Visitation will take place on Sunday from 12:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the APFEL EHLERT FUNERAL HOME, Edgerton, and again on Monday at the church from 10:00 a.m. until the hour of Mass. Memorials in Phil’s name can be made to Wisconsin Badger Honor Flight, St. Joseph Catholic Church, or the Edgerton Hospital Foundation.