January 4, 2005

Joseph John Phillips
Joseph John Phillips was an extraordinary man. Born in Brooklyn, NY, in 1925, he lost both parents to illness at the age of five. His years growing up in Catholic orphanages were difficult but he emerged an adventurous man. During WWII he hitch-hiked across the United States, stopping for a time to work at the bomber factory in Michigan at Willow Run and eventually arriving at the coast in Long Beach, CA. Joining the merchant marines in 1948, Joe received a plaque for sailing around the world on the USS Architect. Joe's love of books and writing (he read the entire dictionary while at sea) prompted him to attend Los Angeles Community College where he met Gaynol Martin. They married and had one son, Garen. After completing his degree at the University of Southern California, Joe's talent for writing and editing led him to a career in publications management at nuclear physics research firms where he excelled in his profession for 25 years in Santa Barbara, CA. A highlight of Joe's last years before his retirement from EG&G Energy Measurements, Inc., was coordinating publicity for the firm's payload specialist who grew crystals in space on the last flight of the Challenger.

After his first wife's death, Joe married Dr. Joyce Baker, a professor of American history, in 1985, and they moved to Oregon in 1988. After many years of editing scientific manuscripts, Joe turned to writing fiction. In 1995 his book, Operation Elbowroom: An Interplanetary Ecofiction was published by Fithian Press.

Joe was always interested in fitness. From his teen years he lifted weights, rode motorcycles, jogged and, in later years, participated in bicycle races. During the 1970s, Joe and his son received over a hundred trophies for their wins in dirt bike racing. Joe loved being "in nature" and felt a profound kinship with mountains, oceans, forests, and animals, especially his cats; White cat, JoBo, and Scout, and the ducks and jays that ate peanuts from his hand. His poetry often expressed his sense of the interconnecting web of humans and nature as did the music he loved to play on complex stereo systems of his own design.

Always willing to help others, Joe was awarded a Commendation for Community Service by the California Highway Patrol in 1981 when he rescued a trapped driver whose car had skidded off the highway and burst into flames. His actions were also recognized by the Ventura County Peace Officers Association the same year.

Joe was a deeply spiritual man, and when he began his journey into illness with a stroke in 1997, he constantly found the strength to be an inspiration to others. A member of the Unitarian-Universalists of Grants Pass and Ashland, Joe spoke of his vision of our "Oneness" with the Cosmos. Even as he lost mental and physical abilities over the years, he still enjoyed and welcomed interactions with family and friends and his community at the Trinity Respite Center in Ashland, and he offered wisdom to all who knew him. Joe will be especially remembered for his willingness to express appreciation and for his sense of humor, his stunning smile and the mischievous glint in his eye.

Joseph was surrounded by the love of his adoring wife and family of friends when he died a natural death with Hospice care at home on December 13th. While he was a very accomplished man in the demands of our world, his most precious legacy was what he taught us about our inward journey and how to love one another.

Donations in Joe's memory can be made to the Trinity Respite Center, 905 Skylark Place, Ashland, OR 97520. A remembrance of Joe's life will be held on Saturday, January 8, 2005 at 2 p.m. For more information please call Cindy Patterson at 482-5693