YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
Last edited 4:39 p.m., Sept. 30, 2015
Tyler Phipps, who served as senior director of sourcing for Nixa-based Market Fresh Produce LLC, died Sept. 26. He was 30.
Phipps, who worked for his father Steve’s company, died while in his deer stand late in the evening on Saturday. Jordan Jackson, senior director of finance for the company, said the accident occurred from a malfunction with Phipps’ tree stand harness, leading to loss of circulation to his lower extremities. A representative of the Phipps’ family contacted Springfield Business Journal this afternoon to correct the earlier account that he was hanging from the stand. Family members were told he was found in an upright position. Ralph Phillips, head of criminal investigations for Christian County, said this morning an official cause of death had not yet been determined and that no criminal investigation was underway.
Tyler Phipps worked over eight years for Market Fresh Produce, a roughly $50 million produce distribution company. Jackson said Phipps led nine employees in the company’s procurement department and for the last year managed its Monett packing plant. He also traveled for Market Fresh to meet with prospective suppliers and had visited Canada twice in the last month, as well as the Texas-Mexico border, Jackson said.
Jackson said Phipps held no ownership in the company, but plans had been discussed to move in that direction. He said the company would work to find a successor for Phipps, but the details of that plan have not yet been laid out.
“In the public, he was the face of our company. He was the front line for going out and meeting suppliers (and) different growers throughout the country,” Jackson said.
Phipps is survived by his wife Ashley; father and stepmother, Steve and Vickie Phipps; mother and stepfather, Lisa and Mark Nickelson; and several other family members, according to his obituary posted at Legacy.com.
“He’s one of the hardest working people I’ve ever known,” Jackson said. “He was a really humble guy.”
A visitation is scheduled 6-8 p.m. Oct. 1 at Adams Funeral Home, 109 N. Truman Blvd. in Nixa, followed by a 2 p.m. funeral Oct. 2 at Seminole Baptist Temple, 4221 S. National Ave. in Springfield.
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