Roy T. "Tom" Phillips

Tom began a new journey and chapter of his life on May 3,2015 Tom was born on June 26, 1939, in El Dorado, KS. His great-grandparents participated in the settlement of the Oklahoma Indian territories in the late 1890's. He was a grandson of sharecroppers who battled the dust bowl days and the agricultural recession of the 1920's and the 1930's. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Suzanne, their three married children: Juanita, Tom and James; six grandchildren; his sister Carol Busch; a niece and nephew; and 10 cousins. He attended El Dorado Community College, the University of Kansas and Wichita State University. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration and A Master of Arts degree in Economics. Tom served in the U.S. Army in Korea during the Cuban Missile Crisis and in Fairbanks Alaska during the Good Friday earthquake. He also served an additional 4 years in the Army Reserves. After 40 years of public service that culminated in a position of Senior Water Policy Analyst for the U.S. Department of the Interior, Tom and his wife retired and moved to Citrus County in 2003. Travel and photography became a major means of exploration in the quest to observe and lift images beyond the purely visual by engaging the mind. He was recognized as the "Photographer of the Year" by camera clubs in Manassas, VA, and Citrus County, FL. He received special recognition from the photography office of the Smithsonian Institution, for his study in photojournalism. Tom and Sue were fond of traveling, filled with curiosity and a mild sense of adventure. Some of his experiences included: hot air ballooning over the Masai Mari in Kenya; shopping in the markets in Tibet; walking on the Great Wall of China; finding Sue's ancestral castle in the highlands of Scotland; rafting on the Snake River in Wyoming; attending an opera in a private Venetian Palace; receiving a Masai Tribal name at an evening camp in the Masai Mara country of Kenya; enjoying a chuck wagon supper in the back country of Yellowstone National Park; visiting a Zulu village in South Africa; photographing tulips in the Keukenhof Gardens in the Netherlands and visiting more than 31 countries on 5 continents and 22 islands. Tom was a member of Homosassa First United Methodist Church and did volunteer work as a bell ringer for the Salvation Army and helped with Our Fathers Table. A memorial service will be held at Homosassa First United Methodist Church on Friday May 22nd at 10:00 AM. In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to the American Heart Association at www.heart.org to help support research to prevent Heart Disease. Wilder Funeral Home, Homosassa. www.wilderfuneral.com