When Love at First Sight Starts with a Wink

With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching and spring just around the corner, many will find their thoughts turning to love and romance. But for two double bears, the time of the season has nothing to with the true love they have shared for 14 years, so far.

Marilyn Sutton, CLAS, ’83, LAW ’92, who has served Mercer School of Law as assistant dean of admissions and financial aid for almost 25 years and George Phillips, Jr. CLAS, ’69, LAW ’13, met at a Law School admission event in the spring of 2010. Marilyn said, “I remember the day George’s application was evaluated by our admissions committee. The committee voted to admit him and soon afterwards we hosted an open house that he attended. I remember shaking his hand for the first time at the reception. He was very nice and had a funny sense of humor.”

The two corresponded about typical admitted-student issues during the spring and summer. Then, during orientation that fall, Marilyn remembers seeing George standing in line. “He grinned and winked at me. I thought ‘is he flirting with me? Did he just wink at me?’” Indeed, he did. And she liked him immediately.

Marilyn recalls the first time she went to George’s house and met his dog Boomer, a Munsterlander known for his ferocious bark. She took it as a good sign that Boomer didn’t bark at her. Instead, he sat at her feet with a smile on his face as if he knew Marilyn was going to be his new mom before the couple knew. The two (three?) were engaged in April of 2011 and married in May of 2012 on St. Simons Island. Marilyn said it was the best day of her life. George graduated Law School in 2013.

Hailing from Chattanooga, TN, Marilyn earned her bachelor’s degree in business and began her career at Tift College in Forsyth, GA, as director of financial aid. In 1986, she began working at Mercer Law as director of financial aid and advanced to director of financial aid and associate director of admissions before being promoted to assistant dean of admissions and financial aid in 1999. Marilyn and her team attend well over one-hundred recruiting events each year, and that does not include the various events hosted at the Law School.

In a position where one must be a good leader, counselor, data analytics expert, emergency responder, marketer, writer, and more, Marilyn says working with students is the best thing about her job. “It is so satisfying to meet a student at the beginning of their legal journey, watch them progress through law school, and then become a member of the legal community. I have seen students get married, have children, and now some of those children are coming to Mercer Law. Those relationships are so meaningful to me.”

As for George, he grew up with a father who was a lawyer and educator and a mother who taught at Wesleyan College. His parents’ careers fueled his natural desire to learn new things. After graduating from Mercer with a degree in chemistry, George joined the Army, and obtained his medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia. He still loves pursuing new interests, such as earning his pilot’s license, studying French and German, and learning to play classical guitar. After retiring from his 20-year career as a surgeon in the Army, George went into private practice in Colorado, and then later academic medicine in Louisiana. A few years later he decided he wanted to pursue a legal career.

Marilyn thinks George chose Mercer because his family lives in Macon and because he was familiar with Mercer after attending undergraduate school. She added, “I would like to think that I had a little something to do with his decision, too.”

Today, George has his own law firm in Macon, where his legal practice area is medical malpractice.

Maybe it was fate that brought this “love at first sight” couple together. Whatever you call it, Marilyn says that marrying George is the best decision she ever made. “I love so many things about George. He is always striving to learn new things and can always make me laugh. If you know me well, you know I love someone with a great sense of humor. It gets you through the best and worst of times. We have a wonderful life that we share with our English Cocker Spaniel Beau.”