Charles Michael Phill

Retired United States Air Force Major, Charles Michael Phill, 81 years old, went home to be with his Lord and Savior on June 28th, 2024 in Spokane, Washington. Funeral services will be held at Trinity Baptist Church, 6528 N. Monroe St. Spokane, WA 99208 on Saturday, July 20th at 4:00pm. At a later date, his children will have a private interment at the Washington State Veterans Cemetery in Medical Lake.

Charles was born in Shreveport, Louisiana on July 16, 1942, to Deacon Thomas Phill, Sr. and Nora Lee (Jones) Phill. He gave his life to Christ when he was 13 years old. He attended Booker T. Washington High School and after graduating, furthered his education at Grambling College, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. Just after graduating in 1965, he received a draft notice for the US Army for service during the Vietnam War. Charles quickly enlisted with the US Air Force; and with his education, he was trained and given trusted duties. Duties that got him noticed by others who advised him to apply for Officer Candidate School to become a Commissioned Officer rather than a non-commissioned enlistee. Once he became a 2nd Lieutenant, his first job was Medical Service Corp Officer/Air Medical Evacuation Officer stationed at Clark Air Base in the Philippines. From Clark, he flew into Vietnam once a month for 2 years to evaluate, observe and assist with the patient evacuation process. It was during those 2 years flying in and out of airbase and jungle landing strips, that he was exposed to the cancerous defoliation chemical; “Agent Orange.” Also, Lieutenant Phill recalled the air evacuation planes taking enemy fire during their takeoffs and landings in South Vietnam.

It was also in the Philippines that he met his wife, Patricia (Pat Scott). They were married on November 30, 1968. Their union produced 4 children. Michael and Marcus were born while stationed in Washington D.C. at Walter Reed Medical Hospital from 1970 to 1972. The twins; David and Elizabeth, were born while stationed at Laughlin Air Base in Del Rio, Texas from 1973 to 1978.

In 1973, he received his first Master’s Degree in Hospital Administration through an accelerated program that only took him one year to complete. He later received his second Master’s Degree in Business Administration while he was raising a young family and building a hospital in Texas in 1977. He was tasked with building the aforementioned Laughlin Air Base Hospital in 1973; with completion of the project taking 4 years.In addition to the Philippines, Washington DC and Texas; Major Phill’s active duty career took him to England, Okinawa-Japan, and California.

In 1987, Major Charles Phill retired after 22 years from the active duty Air Force. After retirement, Charles and Pat lived in Los Angeles, CA and became foster parents for 4 years. This led to the adoption of their 5th child, Carlos Ennis Phill. While in California, Charles taught high school Air Force ROTC for 13 years at John Muir High School in Pasadena. Pat was diagnosed with non-smokers lung cancer in 1997. She had surgery and chemo to slow down its progression. In 2000, they made the decision to move to Spokane so Pat could live in a better air climate than southern California. Charles then taught high school Air Force Junior ROTC at Rogers High School until Pat passed away in 2002. At that point, he became

“Mr. Mom” and raised Carlos on his own.

In 2010, Charles had his left eye removed due to a very rare eye cancerous disease. He also married again, this time to Nadine Miller. Charles then divorced Nadine in 2022 and with the help of his adult children, moved into an assisted living facility of his choice in Spokane; Royal Park Retirement Center. In the last years of his life, he dealt with numerous health obstacles, but always had a positive attitude and a “Continue to March'' mindset. He was especially grateful to be healthy enough to attend the bi-annual PHILL/PHILLS/JEWITT family reunion in Shreveport, LA in July 2022, where he also celebrated his 80th birthday.

Charles’ musical tastes were as varied as the stories he told. His love for Soul, Rock, Classical, Country, Blues, Jazz and Pop was gratefully passed on to his children. Similarly, Charles' fascination with cinema was shared and enjoyed by his children. Charles was indeed a great orator, he could tell fascinating stories, lecture on a multitude of subjects, was a lifelong learner and loved to teach others…especially about Jesus.

His memory will continue to live on in the lives of the following: five children: Charles “Michael” Phill II (Lori), Marcus Phill (Audrey), David Phill, Elizabeth Houtsinger and Carlos Phill (Kailah). 11 grandchildren: Erick, Maizie, Zipora, Isaac, Camden, Bennett, Isabella, Harper, Amaziah, Chloe and Gabriel. And 2 sisters: Barbara McDonald Walker of Shreveport and Cecelia Phill Johnson of Atlanta, as well as numerous relatives and friends.