July 23, 1930 – April 11, 2021
Phil Swartz was born on July 23, 1930, in Hominy, Oklahoma, and was raised in the Osage and Cheyenne parts of Oklahoma during the Great Depression. Phil’s father was a pharmacist; pay was small, and jobs were few. Thus, Phil attended 10 different schools in his elementary-secondary school days and graduated from Geary High School just before his 18th birthday in 1948.
After two weeks in the fields shoveling wheat, Phil decided college was the best route for him and moved to Amarillo, Texas where he attended Amarillo College. At Amarillo College, Phil met and married Barbara Brooks, the first of two loves in his life. Phil and Barbara both obtained Bachelor’s Degrees from West Texas State University—now the West Texas University of Texas A & M. In addition, Phil earned an MBA from West Texas, a degree in College Business Management from the University of Kentucky and completed additional graduate studies at Stanford.
Phil & Barbara had three daughters - Kasey, Cherlyn and Kristi.
Phil started his career at Amarillo College and was the College’s first Chief Financial Officer. After 15 years of service, Phil took a position in Austin, Texas as Director of Fiscal Affairs and Statistical Services for the Higher Education Coordinating Board of Texas. As Phil says, it took him two years to find that he would never make it as a state bureaucrat, so in 1965 he took the position of Chief Financial Officer at a newly formed community college in Killeen, Texas - Central Texas College (CTC).
Initial enrollment of CTC was projected to be less than 1,000 students. In 1967, the institution stunned Texas Higher Education when they opened their doors to an initial enrollment of more than 2,000 students. Dedicated by President Lyndon Johnson as an institution to “serve all the people”, CTC faculty and staff took this literally.
CTC provided education and training to the US Military worldwide as well as aboard ships of the US Navy. Phil established a financial and logistical support system for teaching subjects from English to automotive technology worldwide. In the days prior to the Internet, this involved traditional classroom instruction including teachers, textbooks, and equipment. Frequently unmentioned is that Phil is responsible for the establishment of the Central Texas College Retirement program, a supplement to Teacher Retirement which provides faculty and staff supplemental income upon retirement.
Phil rose from Chief Financial Officer to Provost to President to Chancellor. However for health reasons, he retired from CTC in 1988.
In 1999 after 49 years of marriage, Phil lost Barbara after an extended battle with renal issues.
During the next few years, Phil provided consulting services and worked for First United Methodist Church of Killeen where he had been a member since 1967. Phil enjoyed singing in the chancel choir for several years until COVID-19.
Another of Phil’s prides was serving on the Board of Directors for First National Bank Texas as well as for Ft. Hood National Bank. These banks were once small hometown institutions which have recently merged to operate in more than 300 branches across 4 states.
In 2005, he met and married the second love of his life, Margaret Joiner. Margaret, a native Texan, lived in California for 35 years where she and her husband, Jim, worked in the aerospace and construction industries until they retired to Texas in 1999. Jim Joiner died in 2003. During the fifteen years of their marriage, Phil and Margaret traveled extensively in the Far East and Europe as well as South America.
Margaret’s daughter, Sheryl Spero and husband Gary Spero decided to adopt children from Vietnam. In 2007 Margaret and Phil traveled with the Speros to Vietnam and returned with Phil’s two grandchildren, Esther and James.
Phil is survived by his wife Margaret; his sister Juanola Gariott of Norman, Oklahoma; his daughters Kasey Snyder and her husband Kevin of Killeen, Texas; Cherlyn Corbett and her husband Neal of Johns Creek, Georgia; Kristi Swartz of Hong Kong; stepdaughter Sheryl Spero of Torrance, California; and grandchildren Esther and James Spero.
A Memorial Service will be conducted at First United Methodist Church on April 24, 2021 at 2pm. In memoriam donations can be made to the First United Methodist Church Chancel Choir or to the Phillip R. Swartz Scholarship Fund through the Central Texas College Foundation.
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