Obituary for Pat Phillips
Posting this here so it has a permanent home on the web. Love you Pop.
Patrick Edward Phillips died at his home in Golden Colorado, on February 14, 2024. He was 84 years old.
Pat is survived by his sons Mike (Christi) and John (Nancy); grandchildren Nick, Lauren and Eric; and his sisters Peggy Storrs and Lyn Phillips. He was preceded in death by his wife Judy and his sister Eileen Mueske.
For the past several years, Pat and Joanna Smith have enjoyed each other’s company, as well as many jazz and blues concerts and a variety of delicious beers.
Pat was born September 29, 1939 in Lincoln Nebraska, the oldest child of Grace and Patrick Hugh Phillips. He was the first in his family to attend college and graduated from the Colorado School of Mines in 1961 with a degree in Metallurgical Engineering. He proudly kept his sophomore academic probation letter next to his junior year honor role letter. He received his MBA from the University of Colorado in 1972.
Pat worked for Rocky Mountain Energy for most of his career, and later worked at Echo Bay Mines. Before he retired, he worked as an advisor at Red Rocks Community College.
He married Judy in 1963 and they celebrated their 53rd anniversary in December of 2016. The couple met while attending St. Francis de Sales high school. Judy had a stroke in 2009 that left her partially paralyzed and Pat was a dedicated caregiver for her, along with Cori Davis, until her death in 2017.
Pat always had a soft spot for Golden. He volunteered at the Golden Visitor Center, at Buffalo Bill Days and for the Golden Landmarks Association. In 2012, Pat & Judy were the Honored Guests at Buffalo Bill Days. He was active in the Mines Alumni Association and an avid Mines football fan. He and his ’61 classmates only brought their friend Mr. Keg O’Coors to the game once that we are aware of.
Pat was a lifelong runner and ran in enough races to completely wallpaper the garage with his bib numbers. He ran the Denver Marathon multiple times in pursuit of a three and half hour time that remained just out of reach. He was member of Colorado Masters Running Association and the Denver Hash House Harriers.
He loved the outdoors, was an avid downhill skier and enjoyed many backcountry hut trips with his skiing buddies. He taught his sons to hike, camp and ski. He worked as an ambassador at Copper Mountain, probably the only one to hail from East Tin Cup Colorado.
He was a dedicated father. When Mike’s soccer team was missing a coach, he stepped in and learned soccer on the fly. He was a quick study and coached both Mike and John’s teams to winning seasons.
Pat loved sports cars. He and Judy rallied his MG TC in college and returned to rallying in his ’95 and ’04 Miatas. He was a member of the Peak to Peak Miata Club.
Pat was an outgoing and generous friend. He will be remembered for his distinctive laugh and his love of life.
His Funeral Mass is scheduled for 10:00 am, Friday, April 12th at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 969 Ulysses Street, Golden.
In lieu of flowers, a Mines Endowed Scholarship is being set up to remember Pat’s desire to help others and give back to the community. If you would like to contribute, please send donations to:
Colorado School of Mines Foundation, In memory of Pat Phillips
PO Box 4005
Golden CO 80402-4005