My Niece and Nephew Being Great Americans and Grandchildren

Here is Jennifer and Scott folding dad's flag. That's my mom in the foreground, and their proud mom on the left

Today was Edwin's Funeral

There is no way I can begin to explain the myriad of emotions that filled the day today. From seeing my family and extended family all together, telling my Dad good-bye, seeing my son Scott the Marine and daughter Jen the Navy Lt. solemnly fold his flag, talking to friends I haven't seen in years, seeing his grandchildren who are now adults - some with their own children, hearing the beautiful Requiem Mass - a Catholic liturgical rite that has been in existence since about the 12th century, telling my Dad good-bye, watching my mother and trying to comfort her, feeling the presence of God in the church and at the cemetery... did I mention telling my Dad good-bye? It is my hope that all present will contribute their thoughts here. Stay tuned for some pictures that will only begin to tell the story of today as we all, in our own way, said good-bye to Edwin. We will so miss him as we dearly loved him for the man that he was and the man who will remain in our hearts.

My Dad - The Highschool Essay Contest Winner

Here's a clipping that mom found this morning. Dad attended Handley High School in Fort Worth, Texas. He won the senior essay contest through the Fort Worth Advertising Club on the topic "How Advertising Helps to Raise Our Standards of Living". See, EP comes by it naturally! Dad got $35 for his prize. Mom says that was a pretty good chunk of change back then. He would have been 18 in this photo, probably taken in 1948. I can't imagine my dad ever writing an essay; I thought he only knew FORTRAN coding. Anyway, check out the last sentence in the third paragraph from the end if you can read it - "He expects to become a medical foreign missionary when he finishes his schooling". My, how plans change. I'll bet there was a female student with like aspirations who dad was attracted to? June sure changed that plan!

Dad's Obituary

What an eerie title, but you have to see it. Here it is. Isn't he handsome?
http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=17496d811b46051a&-session=TheDailyNews:62C9459907f6012063XoGoC86272

Computers That Changed the World

Dad was a pioneer in using computers for stress analysis problem solving when he designed ships. I remember going to his office and looking at these HUGE machines that took up entire walls of huge rooms. Big shiny cabinets full of hardware; spinning magnetic discs that would start and stop and start again as if they had a mind of their own, machines that would take huge stacks of computer cards and zip them in one end and out the other at the apparent speed of light, big sheets of green and white paper zipping out of huge printers as their print heads whirred and clicked their way across and down each page. It was amazing to watch, and how proud I was of my dad for being able to handle these monsters with such apparent ease. I remember when he came home at night he would have boxes and boxes of these punch cards that he had produced for his various engineering programs. Each card stack had its name written across the edges of the cards so that as a stack, rubber-banded together, you could read their name. Kind of like you would write on the edge of a book. It had to be 8 alphanumeric characters or less. I always wondered what would happen if he dropped a stack - how would he put them back together?

Here's a picture of a typical machine that he used to work with; I believe that it is a Univac 1108 Multi-Processor System. It probably has less power than most hand-held programmable calculators that you can buy today, but what a beast it was in 1968 and what a beast tamer my dad was as he programmed it like clock work to build the finest and sturdiest sea going vessels.

Pagewriters (3), operators consoles (2), and a wall full of central processing units

My Dad's Library

I was going through the books that my mom hasn’t disposed of yet from my dad’s library. Here were some of his favorite reads:

Hydrodynamics in Ship Design
Principles of Naval Architecture
Non-Destructive Inspection of Hull Welds
Theory of Ship Motions, Vols 1 and 2
A Guide to Sound Ship Structures
Analysis and Design of Flight Vehicle Structures
Stress: A Reference Manual
Theoretical Soil Mechanics
Numerical Methods of Mathematical Optimization
Theory of Plates and Shells
Stresses in Aircraft and Shell Structures
Theory of Elastic Stability
Structural Welding Codes
Analytical and Applied Mechanics
Marine Salvage Operations
Finite Element Analysis for Thin Shells and Curved Members
Introduction to Structural Stability Theory
Buckling Strength of Metal Structures
The Theory of Splines and their Applications
Theory and Applications of Spline functions
Differential Equations
Mechanical Vibrations
Beams on Elastic Foundations
System 360 Programming: A Self Instruction Manual
Univac 1108 Multiprocessor System
IBM SOAP II Reference Manual for the IBM 650 Data Processing System
Using the IBM 1130

And my all time favorite - PLAP Jacket Launch User’s Manual: A computer program for platform launch and upending analysis

Imagine being a 13 year old and needing help with your homework. I used to dread it and love it all at the same time. I knew that it would be fun spending time with my dad and letting him explain things to me, but he usually lost me within the first 5 minutes of instruction. I acted like I understood, then I went back to my room and tried to put it all together. It usually took me hours, but I always got it in the end.

Behind Every Man...

is someone who is helping to make him great. In this case, that someone is my mother, June Phillips. What people don't know is what they don't know -- how my mother has taken care of my father and set an example that is, and will always be, where the bar has been set for my family. I remember years ago when my father was healthy and Mom was traveling - dogs in car, groceries on the floorboard, clean laundry ready to exchange for not-so-clean - to an apartment in Houston to stay and tend to Dad while he worked at the American Bureau of Shipping, returning to Dickinson on weekends. This wasn't a summer thing, not even a year-long arrangement. This went on for years and years. Dad would go be Senior Engineer and totally concentrate on work as Mom picked up all the slack of home and family and everything else...I guess that's the way we did things back then, but maybe not so much anymore. Anyway, I remember I said to her in a conversation, and I quote, "Mom, I really admire the way you take care of Dad." And I went on in my own awkward way to tell her how highly I thought about all that and how it inspired me to be a better wife. My Mom didn't puff up, she didn't say anything about sacrificing (which she was), or spending so much time and energy (which she did), or anything self-serving (as I would have). Nope. Mom simply stated very matter of factly, "He's worth it."



Fast forward 10 years and my Mom was still taking care of my Dad, though my Dad was mentally and physically much more challenged and needed much more care. Mom had to be there in every way. She lamented the day she had to admit that Dad's health problems were bigger than she is (and at 4'10", she really managed to handle more than anyone I know!). My Dad went to a wonderful place to receive the care he deserved and my Mom visited as often as she could - she made friends with so many of the folks at the Cottages of Clear Lake- and now is realizing she wants to return as a volunteer and continue to touch their lives with her wonderful, outgoing spirit. My mother walks in and everyone looks at her as she talks to them - CONNECTS with them - and brings smiles to so many. I could go on....suffice to say, our mother has provided us with a clear directive and purposeful point of view -- again in her words, "there is nothing like family". We love you Mom.

Dad's Red Sports Car

We all have a mid-life crisis of some kind. My Dad never really did. But when he bought this car, everyone said it was his "mid-life crisis car". The car had a life of it's own...often, the top was down and our Old English Sheepdog, Abby, was in the passenger seat, tongue hanging out, loving every minute as her hair was out of her eyes and blowing in the wind. The hairpin turns in the mountains of New Jersey brought out the G's in Dad's usually docile driving. He had one eye on the road and the other watching the reaction of his passengers - who felt they needed an airbag but were too scared to ask. Oh, need I to mention how it could easily be pushed out of the garage while in neutral...started safely down the street (and out of earshot) for a late night spin to Galveston Island? But I don't know anyone who did that. Mid life crisis or not - that car was a blast! My brother adopted the car years later...he can fill you on that. I think there were some times when it had to be pushed in the snow at the train station in Jersey -- but we didn't care. That was some car....

Ties That Bind

My brother is a genius for creating this tribute to our father. Dad was a gentle-man in every sense of the word - he loved his wife and cherished his family. He brought honor, respectfulness and kindness forward in every relationship he had. The legacy left by my Dad will continue - resurrected battle ships, fish tales, Dallas Cowboys, U.S. Naval Academy, a famous red sports car, dogs and more dogs -- the stories will be shared and remembered ! Above is his grandson, Scott, a recent graduate of the Citadel. Also included is the legacy of the McCollough women - myself, his granddaughters Jen and Annie, and Annie's daughter - my dad's great-granddaughter, Audrey. Here's to sharing stories!

Edwin Faraday Phillips (October 05, 1930 - March 22, 2008)

This is the official blog for our dad. He was the smartest and kindest person we will ever know, and he shaped our lives in ways he will never imagine. We love him and we miss him, and this is just one way that we want o memorialize him. Please enjoy, and feel free to comment.

Mom, Eric, Jenessa, David, Babs and Dad