Philip M. Haggerty

Philip M. (Phil) Haggerty was born on May 23, 1932, in New York City and died peacefully on June 20, 2026, surrounded by family. He was the sixth and youngest child of Louis C. Haggerty and L. Adele Prindle Haggerty. Raised in New York, he graduated from Georgetown University in 1953.

After graduation, Phil was drafted into the U.S. Army and spent his final year of service at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, where he developed a lifelong love of Arizona and the desert. He returned to Georgetown for law school, met and married Julia Pflaum, and the newlyweds moved to Phoenix.

Phil began his legal career in 1959 as a Deputy Maricopa County Attorney, followed by five years as an Assistant Arizona Attorney General, 11 years in private practice, and 23 years with the Phoenix City Law Department, where he retired as Chief Assistant City Attorney in 2000. He also earned a Master’s in Public Administration from Arizona State University.

Phil described his “checkered legal career” as quite varied. An accomplished appellate advocate, he argued before the Arizona Court of Appeals, the Arizona Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and three times before the Supreme Court of the United States, including once as a private attorney petitioning the Court to hear his client’s case.

Phil is survived by his wife Edith; his children from his marriage to Julia Haggerty: Kathleen (Timothy Healey), Ellen Rossini (Carl), Timothy Haggerty (Coleen), and Margaret ("Megs") Goings (John); his stepdaughter, Jennifer Middelkamp (Gary); six grandchildren, two step-grandchildren,12 great-grandchildren; and many beloved nieces and nephews. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his sons Daniel, who died two days after birth, and Michael, who died in 2018; and by his stepdaughter Belinda Goble Calloway. Phil and Julia were divorced in 1978.

In 1967, persuaded by his then-wife Julia and his brother Louis that alcohol had become a problem, Phil joined the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous. He remained sober from August 1, 1967, until his death and was an active member of AA for nearly 59 years, attending meetings from Phoenix to Berlin and New Zealand and serving the program in several positions. He also served as Chair of the Phoenix Chapter of the National Council on Alcoholism, Chair of the State Bar Lawyers Assistance Committee, and Chair of the Casa de Amigas women’s rehabilitation home.

In 1986, Phil married Edith Goble, and they shared nearly 40 happy years together. Their retirement included more than 45 cruises, operas throughout the United States and Europe, concerts around the world, and decades of support for Ballet Arizona, the Phoenix Symphony, the Arizona Opera, the Downtown Chamber Series, and the Phoenix Chorale. Phil also volunteered with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, the Arizona Braille and Talking Book Library, the Franciscan Renewal Center, and Georgetown University as an alumni admissions interviewer.

A Memorial Mass will be held at the Franciscan Renewal Center, 5802 E. Lincoln Drive, Scottsdale, Arizona, at 9:30 am on July 30, 2026.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Phoenix.