Phillip was born on October 3rd, 1949 in Topeka, KS to Salvador and Mary (Concepcion) Chavez. With his father enlisted in the military, Phillip attended various schools in various regions ranging from here in Oklahoma to New Mexico, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas to as far as Turkey and Morocco. He graduated from Del Valle High School in Austin, TX in 1968 and attended Killeen Junior College before joining the Air Force at the age of 19. While in the Air Force, Phillip was well traveled in the communications field where he was assigned to several locations including Alaska, Japan, Saudi Arabia, England, and the Philippines where he met and married Bernadette Arado on June 30th, 1978. Soon after, Phillip was relocated to Oklahoma where he and Bernadette raised two sons, Roger and Ramon, and one daughter, Liza until 1986. This is when Phillip and his family moved to England for the next 4 years, then ended up moving back to Oklahoma where he retired honorably ranked as a Tech Sargent in 1990. Upon retirement from the Air Force, Phillip pursued his desire to earn a college degree and did so by receiving an Associate’s Degree in Political Science from Rose State College then moving on to receive his Bachelors of Arts in Political Science from the University of Central Oklahoma. All of this while taking care of his family and working at the VA Hospital, where he worked for 18 years before officially retiring in 2015.
Anybody that knows Phillip can attest the he was quite the Historian. An avid reader like his father, you could always catch him on the couch or in his favorite recliner with a book in his hand. He enjoyed having deep conversations with just about anyone that had an interest about anything relating to history, especially his father who would always take him up on a friendly debate about various historical topics ranging from the civil war to boxing. He was truly an advocate for knowledge. The true scholar that he was, Phillip also enjoyed playing the game of chess. Though there may have not been many challengers, his father, who he spent a lot of time with, was always game to join in on a game or two while discussing the latest conspiracy theory of course.
Phillip James Chavez, a loving husband and father, was preceded in death by his father and mother. He is survived by his wife, 3 children, 3 sisters, 2 grandchildren, 7 nephews, 3 great nephews, 2 great nieces, and a host of cousins.
The family would like to thank everyone for their support and love in honor and remembrance of Phillip Chavez and a special thank you to the staff at Grace Living Center where he was loved and adored. Your thoughtfulness is very much appreciated.
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