Phillip Neil Burger, 87 of Rock Island, went home to be with the Lord on Saturday, September 19, 2026 at Friendship Manor (Silver Cross) in Rock Island.

Visitation will be held on Thursday, September 24, 2026 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Wheelan-Pressly Funeral Home in Rock Island. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, September 26, 2026, at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Rock Island, Illinois, with visitation beginning one hour before the service. Burial will be at Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Taylor Ridge, Illinois.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Immanuel Lutheran Church, Rock Island or Friendship Manor, Rock Island.

Phil—known as Neil to his family—was born on June 6, 1939, in Rockford, Illinois, to Merle and Ruth (Moody) Burger. He joined two older brothers; later, another brother and a beloved younger sister completed the family.

He graduated from Oregon High School in 1958. While working as a box boy at the local Piggly Wiggly grocery store, he met the love of his life, Karen Marcum. Karen’s grandmother, affectionately known as “Lulu,” took a liking to Neil when she saw him at the store and decided the two should meet. They married on September 27, 1959, at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Earlville, Illinois, and would have celebrated their 67th wedding anniversary on Sunday.

Phil built a long and successful career with Eagle Food Stores, which acquired the Piggly Wiggly stores in the 1960s. He began as a stocker and worked his way through several roles, including butcher, produce manager, assistant store manager, and eventually store manager. His career took him to stores throughout the Midwest—including DeKalb, Sterling, Rock Falls, and Dixon, Illinois—before a promotion to store manager brought him to the Quad Cities. After retiring from Eagle Foods in 1994, Phil worked at Saukie Golf Course in Rock Island for a couple of years. When Karen retired in 1996, they purchased a Pepperidge Farm route in Joplin, Missouri. They sold the route in 1998 and moved to Tipton, Missouri, to help care for Karen’s parents. But Phil was not ready to stop working. He became a groundskeeper at Tipton Country Club and later started his own mowing business. That work ultimately led to a position as groundskeeper at St. Paul’s Lutheran Cemetery in California, Missouri, where he was also a member of the church.

In 2007 he and Karen would return home to Illinois after the deaths of Karen’s parents. They settled in Amboy where they would reside until moving back to the Quad Cities in 2017.

He is survived by his wife, Karen of Rock Island; daughter and son-in-law Tammy and “Robo” Robinson of Matherville, IL; son and daughter-in-law Russ and Leeann Burger of Muscatine, Iowa; grandchildren Dan and Robert Robinson of Matherville, Allison and Todd Anderson and great-granddaughter Emmy of Orion, IL, Drake and Lenny Shelledy of Skokie, IL and Bryant Burger of Muscatine. He is further survived by brother Bill Burger (Renie) of Rochelle, IL; sister, Cibby Long of Bella Vista, Arkansas along with many nieces and nephews who have dubbed him the favorite uncle.

Neil was preceded in death by his parents; brothers Jack and Jim Burger (and wife Sue); brothers-in-law Laken Long and Kenny Marcum; sister-in-law Adeline (Marcum) Husser; niece Cibby (Burger) Romero and nephews Merle Burger and Kyle Marcum.

We would like to give special thanks to the staff at Silver Cross at Friendship Manor in Rock Island and the staff at Hospice Compassus of Moline, Illinois who lovingly took care of our dad in his final months.