Douglas Percy Phillips' Obituary
Douglas Percy Phillips, 83, of Decatur, passed away Thursday, March 15, 2018 in Jacksonville, IL.
Douglas was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin to Percy H. and Lillian S. Phillips. He attended the campus school and graduated from Central High School in 1952. From there, he had a scholarship and attended Luther College for a year. He then transferred to Northwestern University where he was a scholarship student. He was a solo clarinetist with the University Symphony, the Concert Band, and the Wind Ensemble. While a student at Northwestern, he also performed several times with the Chicago Symphony playing both clarinet and basset horn. He also was in that orchestra when they recorded for RCA Victor under Fritz Reiner. Both of his degrees, the Bachelor of Music – 1956, and the Master of Music – 1957 are from Northwestern University with further graduate work at the Eastman School of Music.
He enlisted in the Air Force until the death of his Father in 1958, at which time he returned home and subsequently taught music in the La Crosse Public Schools and then the Madison, Wisconsin Public Schools. From there, He went to Decorah, Iowa to teach at Luther College from 1961 – 1965, and then taught 32 years at Millikin University until 1997 when he retired from there with the status of Professor of Music Emeritus. He taught clarinet, clarinet methods, instrument repair and music theory courses. He did return to Millikin as an Adjunct Professor after retirement to teach sophomore music theory and clarinet methods.
While in Decatur, Douglas played Principal Clarinet in the Millikin Decatur Symphony, the Springfield, IL Symphony and soloed with both groups several times. The last few years, Douglas has played with the Jacksonville, IL Symphony as both Principal and Second Clarinet. He always said that he did this to keep his wife Susan company on the trips to Jacksonville. Douglas and Susan were married on December 5, 1980.
Besides his wife Susan, Douglas leaves behind his son Timothy, an architect in both Chicago and San Francisco. We miss him terribly.
Memorial services to celebrate the life of Douglas Phillips will be 2 p.m. Saturday, March 24, 2018, at Graceland/Fairlawn Funeral Home. Visitation will be from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday before the service at the funeral home. Memorials may be directed to the American Heart Association 2141 W White Oaks Dr # A, Springfield, IL 62704.
Cremation services will be provided by the Graceland/Fairlawn Funeral Home & Cremation Center, 2091 N. Oakland Ave. Decatur, IL. Please view the online obituary, send condolences, and share memories at www.gracelandfairlawn.com.
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