I just received contact details for Barbra and Bill from friend Everest'88 teammate Stephen Venables
Stephen didn't have an email and I wanted to make contact with an email first  and whist googling Bill came upon his obituary.I was saddened by the news as one doesn't imagine such a bright light being extinguished- I had the good fortune to meet Bill when I was the fundraiser and public relations Director of Everest'88, which Bill was an honorary support team member, who helped me a lot with corporate contacts and later introduced me to both the Achilles Track Club and Outward bound NY chapter. Bill was very good at sharing his interests and enthusiasm with others and making mutually beneficialconnections my involvement included being a partner to a wheelchair member of Achilles in the NYC marathon and a blind runner in a women half marathon.my only interaction with OB was to attend a press launch for the climbing rigging at South Street Seaport which I tried roped to a photographer from the NYTimes.All this is especially poignant to me as I have been a paraplegic since suffering a massive stroke in 2007! I was especially interested to see the Phillips are based in Old Saybrook, as I went to Wesleyan University in Middletown CT and my parents lived in Fairfield. Please extend my condolences to his family. Barbra I was going to point Bills'attention to an interesting series of documentaries about three cities that contributed greatly in one specific year to the cultural development of the 20th Century the presenter and Cambridge Art Historian, James Fox, chose NY in 1951-focusing on David Ogilvys'great success in Advertising. All the best from me,I will let the Everest '88 team know, although many may have kept in better contact than myself and already know of Bills' passing. All the best, Wendy Davis(now Davis Beard based in Greenwich,London


Dear Barbara,

I have just learned of the passing of Bill.  Please accept my sincere condolences.

Bill was an incredibly important part of my Outward Bound life for many years.  We first met at the third international Outward Bound Conference held at Lake Otsego, Upstate New York in 1988. At the end of this conference Bill rose to make a plea that the various Outward Bound centers around the world should come together to form an international Outward Bound organization.  This was music to my ears as I had long thought that that was the way forward for Outward Bound.  I introduced myself to Bill and volunteered to draft articles of association for this entity. The International Outward Bound Advisory Board (OB IAB) formally came into existence in 1990 with Bill as the inaugural chair. At that time I was a corporate lawyer based in Auckland, New Zealand. In 1992 I was invited to take up a position as a senior international attorney with the World Bank in Washington, DC.  One of my first acts upon arriving in the States was to visit Bill in New York. Shortly thereafter Outward Bound UK (the holder of the Outward Bound trademark licensing authority) experienced some serious management issues. With Bill's support I proposed that the time was right to convert the OB IAB into Outward Bound International (OBI).  OBI was formally launched in 1996.  I succeeded Bill as Chair but Bill remained on the OBI Board. For the next 6 years the OBI Board met twice a year in different Centers around the world and quite often in between these meetings in Bill's apartment in New York. Bill and Barbara were exceptionally generous hosts and these were invariably meetings that I cherished. Bill became a wonderful mentor, adviser, supporter and friend.  He was enormously respected through out the Outward Bound world as someone who both talked the talk and walked the walk.  After I completed my term as chair we kept in regular touch for many years until his health began to decline.

Bill Phillips was one of the three or four individuals who have truly impacted the trajectory of my life.  I was very saddened to hear of his passing but I rejoice in the knowledge that I was able to spend so much quality time with this extraordinary Outward Bound hero.

Dear, Barbara I miss Bill’s beautiful smile and your beautiful smile alongside him, and his caretaker John.

Deepest sympathy, from Sue Ranniello the hair dress Aaron Manor.


I was privileged to serve on Cornell’s Outdoor Ed Advisory Board under Bill’s chairmanship for many years. A farsighted, visionary leader, he inspired the growth of the program to the preeminent position it has reached today. I’ll miss him and our annual exchange of holiday greetings. My prayers go with him, Barbara, and their family.

Dear Phillips Family,
Please accept my sincere condolences on the loss of a great man. My affiliation is through my parents, Bob and Shirley Adams. Bob and Bill were doubles partners at OLCC, winning a number of titles. Both were successful business leaders of the same generation, were Ivy leaguers, loved wine, and loved their families. I am only sorry I did not get to know Bill when he and my Dad were playing tennis, although we did meet many times over the last 25 years, and that includes his better half, Barbara. Having lost my Dad in late 2017, and now losing Bill, it feels like an end to an era. But what an era it was....

Bill was one of our North Cove neighbors in Old Saybrook.  We just want to offer this note of appreciation for his positive influence in the community and in the world.  Our condolences to Barbara, who was also a wonderful neighbor, and to all his family members. He was a remarkable man. 

Bill was one of the key influencers to attract me to Ogilvy in 1980. I'd met him at a 4A's training program; he was on a panel of Presidents who responded to all of our Q&A's at the close of the multi-day session. He was full of energy, and he answered my 'crucial' question with a wise twinkle. He encouraged us to 'take time to be ready to be at work, at play, at home.' Bill did seem always ready to tackle the newest challenge- from clients and nature. He inspired me to explore and test boundaries.
Whilst there were many things I learned from Bill about Advertising ( and training and clients), his advice about being a person who others simply wanted to be with was irreplaceable. In the decades of training programs it was hard to beat his simple words.
Thank you for sharing him all these years. I will remember his laughter and his piercing questions.

The board and staff of NYC Outward Bound Schools are deeply saddened by Bill's passing. As our founding Board Chair, his spirit will always be with us. We extend our deepest sympathies to Bill's wife Barbara, his children Michael, Tom and Sarah, and the entire extended family. To read about the legacy he has left for our students and schools visit: https://www.nycoutwardbound.org/stories/william-e-phillips/  

AVIS DE DÉCÈS

William E. Phillips

7 janvier 1930 – 26 décembre 2018

Robinson, Wright & Weymer Funeral Home

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