Allen Thomas Phelps Jr. passed away Sunday, September 1, 2019 at the age of 57 from complications of kidney failure.

Allen was born in Norfolk, Va. on February 26, 1962 to Thomas Allen Phelps and the late Patricia Ann Davis Lyden.

He graduated from James Groves High School of Dare Co. in 1987. He grew up on the shores of the Outer Banks and called himself a true Carolina Boy.

Buxton, NC was his home for much of his young life. He loved walking and fishing the point. He worked on a commercial fishing boat and made lead sinkers with his friends, Terry and Dee. He worked at the local gas station. He was a volunteer firefighter at Station #44 in Buxton, NC for many years and achieved the rank of Chief Engineer, receiving the Fireman of the Year award in 1981. He was known to run half dressed down Light House Road to be first at the station.

His father started him on his beloved career of driving a truck. At the tender age of 13, he would back semis up into the loading docks for all the drivers. At only 15, he went on his first solo haul when a driver called out.

Later he entered construction, where he learned to work with heavy machinery. After helping rebuild the Oregon Inlet jetty, he came to Delaware and helped build the Rt.1 bypass. He continued his driving career in Delaware with Kuhn Construction out of Hockessin.

He stayed in Delaware because he found his true loves, a boy named Christopher and his mother Tina. Through the past 30 years Tina and Allen have been through a lot. Allen survived a stem cell transplant 14 years ago, kicking cancer’s butt. He was hit by two vehicles and walked away. The past 7 years, they have been living with his kidney failure and managing it on peritoneal dialysis. Allen was a strong man, a good man and had a will to live. He loved fishing, hunting, boating, riding on the beach, mowing the grass, enjoying friends, and just being alive. He was wonderful and he will be missed.

He leaves behind his best friend, his lover, his wife, his everything of 30 years, Tina Bilbrough of Smyrna; their son Christopher Scott Manganelli (Alene) of Smyrna; his father Thomas Allen Phelps of Chesapeake, VA; his sisters Edith Hope Byrd of Buxton NC and Peggy Lynn Lane (Ed) of Chesapeake, VA; nephew Terry Byrd, Jr. (Tisha) of NC; nieces Lisa Byrd of SC and Britney Byrd of NC; four great nephews; two great nieces; his longtime friends Dee, Terry and Paul Goldman of NC, Big Tommy Ayers of NC, Larry Dulaney of DE, Mike (Lori) and John Tippitt of DE; and so many others.

A viewing will be held on Monday, September 16, 2019 at 11 a.m. in the Faries Funeral Chapel located at 29 South Main Street in Smyrna. Funeral services will begin at 12pm. Burial will follow in St. Peters Cemetery in Smyrna.

Condolences may be sent by visiting www.fariesfuneralhome.com.

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