Murry Ormand Phillips was born on April 28, 1913, in Leake County, Mississippi. After graduating from Mississippi State University, he took a teaching position at Coats High School, in Coats, a small town in central North Carolina's, Harnett County. Shortly after arriving in Coats, he was introduced to Kathryn Stewart Smith. They were married a year later. Phillips lived in Coats until his death on May 16, 2000.

A pioneer in the use of color slide film, Phillips was among the first to work in the medium, starting in 1938. Throughout his career he was a techical innovator. Early on, Phillips was the recipient of corporate grants that allowed him to perfect techniques related to the presentation of classroom materials using ditto machines, thermofaxes, and 35 mm slides. Phillips' career as an educator was put on hold during World War II. He saw action in North Africa and Italy, served under Generals George Patton and Mark Clark, and received numerous commendations for bravery. Phillips retired from active service after the war but continued to serve in the Army Reserves, and retired with the rank of Major.

In the twenty-eight years that M. O. Phillips spent teaching vocational agriculture in Harnett County, he perfected the use of classroom instructional aids using a variety of media. His specialty was the use of slides and overhead projectors. He evolved his presentation skills to include film strips and video production. In 1958 Phillips received a Master's degree in Agricultural Education from North Carolina State University. After teaching vocational agriculture in Harnett County, Phillips served as the Chief Curriculum Specialist and Supervisor for curriculum development in vocational education for the North Carolina Department of Public Education. He worked in that capacity for ten years.

Phillips was an active leader in the Future Farmers of America (FFA) and served as the director of the FFA summer youth camp in White Lake, North Carolina, for ten years. He was recognized numerous times by the FFA for his many contributions to the organization. He received additional recognition from the National Vocational Agricultural Teacher's Association, Inc. who awarded Phillips Honorary American Farmer degrees in 1937, 1948, and 1958. The Coats, North Carolina Chamber of Commerce named M. O. Phillips "Coats, Man of the Year" in 1983. Phillips received the "Governor's Volunteer Award" from Governor James Hunt in 1994.

In addition to civic and military service, Phillips served as a deacon at the Coats Baptist Church and taught Sunday School there for forty-five years. He applied his skill in classroom media development and created slide presentations related to scripture. At the time of his death he was working on a book of sermons for children.