Harold "Hank" William Phillips

Harold Phillips was born in Cleveland, Ohio to Herbert Traxler Phillips and Mildred Edith Gammon. He lived in Cleveland with his parents and brother, Thomas, until leaving to attend Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. It was there that he was given the nickname, Hank, that he used for the rest of his life. He earned a Bachelor’s of Arts in Math in 1965. Shortly thereafter he attended the Navy Supply School in Athens, Georgia before deploying to Da Nang, Vietnam where he served as a Naval Supply Corp officer from 1966-1967. 

Upon returning, he was stationed at Concord Naval Station in Concord, California. His commanding officer included in his first orders, “you will marry my daughter.” Virginia "Ginny" Bess was that daughter. He married her in Cleveland, Ohio in April 1968. The happy couple lived in Concord, California until later that year, when Hank retired from active duty and they moved to Cleveland to be near family. In 1972, Hank moved to Nogales and then to Tucson in 1974, where he pursued a degree in accounting, earning that honor from the University of Arizona in 1977. He hiked the Grand Canyon with his brother in 1977 as well, sleeping under the stars at the bottom. Hank and Ginny joined Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church with their two kids in 1976. Hank sang tenor in the choir and enjoyed many friendships and trips with that fine group. He also was a part of a barbershop quartet. 

Hank worked as an accountant for the Pima County government for 20 years. He also continued in the Navy reserves, finishing more than 20 total years in the Navy. He completed one weekend of training every month and along with two weeks of training each year. Some of those training sessions included travel to places like Spain and South Korea. He was proud of his military service. He retired from the Navy in 1989 and from Pima County in 1999. He then worked for Tucson City government for a short time before choosing to retire from accounting. He picked up a job driving a special education school bus for Catalina Foothills School District. He loved working with those children. He would drop off get well cards at the kids’ doorsteps when they were sick. He continued with this job until his first grandchild was born in 2002. He then took over childcare duties so that his daughter could return to work without worry. Hank was known in the family as “the baby whisperer”. He had such a calm and patient demeanor, he could calm any crying baby within minutes. He even volunteered as a baby snuggler at the special care nursery at St. Joseph’s Hospital. He attended as many of his kids’ and grandkids’ school and sports activities as he possibly could. He loved being with his family.

Hank passed away peacefully November 29, 2024 after suffering from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease brought on by Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam. He is survived by his wife, Ginny; his daughter, Meg (David) Hughes; son, Jim (Anna) Phillips; six grandkids: James, Jill, Frank, Dagny, Zachary, and Gavin; and his brother, Tom Phillips. 

A Memorial Service will be held at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, 1200 N. Campbell Ave., Tucson, Arizona 85719 on December 22nd at 1:00 PM. 

A military burial with full honors will be held January 2nd at 12:00 pm at the Arizona Memorial Veterans’ Cemetery, 15950 N. Luckett Rd., Marana 85653. 

In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes donations to the Tucson VA Medical Center. https://www.cdceportal.va.gov/donate_at_facility/