Mistaken email deletion

QuickTimeKirk wrote:

Contacts are separate from an email account.

Deleting the account should not remove the contacts.

Not always true; that’s only true if the contacts are local on the phone only. Most contacts are associated with an email account. If you open the Contacts app and tap Groups in the upper left it will show the accounts that contacts are owned by if they are not “on the iPhone” contacts.

How did you remove the email address?

Yes, contacts linked to an email address will be deleted if you delete the account. And, if it was a business account, those contacts are owned by the company, anyway.

Oops.