Walt Phillips Finished His Race

Today a friend of mine was laid to rest.
Walt Phillips was an amazing man! He
gave so much of his time, money and effort
to so many different organizations and made
El Paso a better community for many people!


I met Walt a number of years ago because
he was a big softball fan. He brought me
to El Paso to run clinics and we had over
100 girls 3 years in a row come to these
clinics. The best part was that we kept
the price very low so everybody could
afford to come.

I want to put a few comments from the
article about his life:

Retired Army first sergeant, educator
Walt Phillips dies at 72

EL PASO -- Walt Phillips, a retired Army
first sergeant, educator, recipient of the
city's highest honor and community advocate,
died Saturday. He was 72.

Phillips was diagnosed with prostate cancer
in September.

"The doctors didn't expect him to live this
long," said his wife, Gloria Phillips. "He
couldn't leave until he finished all his missions."

After his diagnosis, he set up a scholarship
foundation, celebrated his fourth-wedding
anniversary and arranged to donate his body
to the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine.

He received the Conquistador Award, the
city's highest honor, in December.

Phillips was a member of the Senior All-Star
Football committee for more than 16 years,
co-founder of the Optimist Foundation of
Greater El Paso, co-founder of the Northeast
Veterans Day Parade, organized the Leah
O'Brien-Amico softball camp for girls, and
participated in several other organizations.

"His last wish was to donate his body to
Texas Tech for science research," she said.
"He did it so hopefully they could find a
cure for the disease."

"If you care about yourself, your neighbors
and your city, you just go out and do things,"
Walt Phillips said in December. "Nothing I've
done has been part of a path where I said I'm
going to do this or that. You just step forward
and do them."girls, and participated in several
other organizations.

**I was able to talk to Walt a couple months
ago and he was as upbeat as ever. I am so sad
that he lost his battle with cancer but so happy
that he is seeing God face to face right now.
Walt lived a life of serving others and that is
one example I want to follow. I will see Walt
again one day in heaven.