Phillip Arving Deweese

Phillip Arving DeWeese, 68, of Salem, Va. went to be with the Lord on February 21, 2026 peacefully in the arms of his children after a 10 year battle with cancer, in which he never gave up and fought to the end. He carried a cancer gene mutation that caused him to battle prostate cancer, blood cancer, and kidney cancer.

He retired from U.S. Food Services, where he was a dedicated employee as a maintenance man for the forklift batteries and as a truck driver. Also, he worked at Valleydale and PYA Monarch for many years.

He loved to ride his four-wheeler in West Virginia anytime he had the chance. He enjoyed coaching sports teams for his children when they were growing up and attending his grandchildren’s sporting events as their number one fan. He will always be remembered as the dad and grandfather with the legendary “long red beard.” Above all, he was a hard-working provider for all his family, and made sure their needs were taken care of before his own. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, and uncle.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Arving Hubert and Ocelia Gretchen DeWeese; Father-in-law William Pete Correll Sr.

His surviving family includes his wife of 47 years, Billie Jo DeWeese; Son, Travis DeWeese(Jill); daughter and son-in-law, Elisha and Brian Cuddy; granddaughter, Rosemary Cuddy; grandson, Bradley Cuddy; siblings sister, Cindy Manning; brother and sister-in-law, Bruce and Kathie Deweese; brother-in-law, William “Jimmy” Correll and loving mother-in-law Nadine Correll; many nieces and nephews; many special and close friends; and his dogs Chloe and Maggie.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Riverside Evangelical Methodist Church in Salem. Friends and family will visit from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm, with the Celebration of Life service beginning at 2:00 pm on Saturday, February 28, 2026. Pastor Brian Gordon will officiate. The church is located at 1920 Lucas Street, Salem, Virginia 24153.

The family would like to give special thanks to all the healthcare teams and workers that were a part of his care, which is Duke University Cancer Institute, Blue Ridge Cancer Care, Foot and Ankle Specialist of the MidAtlantic, Lewis Gale Hospital 6th Floor Oncology Unit, and Good Samaritan Hospice.