Folks,
Thank you, RC. As RC just posted, I recently found out that a long time SouthernWx member, Phil from Gainesville (Hogtown) (pcbjr), had passed away early in autumn from cancer.
When I found this out, it hit me hard because we were very good online friends and shared a lot in common. I greatly miss him.
Phil was one of the most active members here for a number of years starting early in this board’s existence and thus helped keep discussions lively. He also volunteered to put the time in to keep the internal wiki updated on a regular basis. In addition he was an early financial contributor. Like many of us, he was a member of AmericanWx before this board existed.
He was a trial attorney who LOVED his occupation, especially preparing for trials. During those preps, he’d occasionally PM me during breaks just to enthusiastically talk wx.
Like me he loved to walk regularly, especially during chilly wx. Unlike me, he’d walk early in the AM. I’m sure many of you remember the many posts showing his pride in Hogtown having amazing radiational cooling abilities!
Phil was a devoted and loving family man who very much appreciated his wife’s cooking. In many posts he described the delicious food, including listing each item one by one, he was looking forward to having when he got home. He loved the little things in life. He wasn’t shy about being a man of faith in the Almighty.
It was hard to not know he was a bigtime Grateful Dead fan (“Deadhead”) because he always had his Jerry Garcia avatar. He’d from time to time post some of the lyrics from his favorite Dead songs. He was a funny guy. I remember in the PGA threads when we’d talk about “Phil” as in Mickelson that he’d playfully pretend we were talking about him.
He also was a very positive thinker. Thus, one thing he didn’t like to be around was too much negativity. Consistent with that: although he absolutely loved the wx as a hobby and thus being a member of wx forums to discuss it, a thing we had in common was his strong dislike for seeing too much whining about not getting enough snow despite still getting a good amount. He loved even just the flurries he’d occasionally get in Hogtown. This is despite as a younger man experiencing some big snows up north. He hiked some of the Appalachian Trail several times and also experienced heavy Lake-Effect snow at least once if I’m not mistaken.
May Phil rest in peace and continue to enjoy the wx!
