Phil Deane, a good man who lived and passed on strong values, died of cancer March 15 at his Shaw Island home. He was 83. Phil’s life reflected the advice he gave a grandson the day before he died: Live well, make wise choices, be ethical. His daily life was based on faith in God and service to others, as a physician, a contributing member of his communities, a husband, father, grandfather and friend.

He added to that a highly developed sense of humor that usually began, “That reminds me of a story…”

Phil was as strong physically as he was spiritually. He began serious ski jumping at age 7, served three years in the 10th Mountain Division of the U.S. Army in WWII, skied cross-country and ski-jumped on a collegiate championship ski team, and fished, hiked, and camped with his large family and friends, sometimes literally pulling his kids up steep hiking trails with a rope tied to his backpack. Through much of his adult life he participated in yearly treadmill tests of stamina at the University of Washington, usually outperforming world-class athletes many years younger.

Phil was born January 20, 1924 in Greenfield, Mass. to Harold and Eunice Deane, and raised with sisters Shirley and Judy, who survive him. Dyslexia complicated Phil’s learning process, but thanks to gifted teachers at Deerfield Academy and his own persistence, he overcame his reading problem to graduate Cum Laude from Middlebury College after WWII. He graduated with honors from Yale University School of Medicine in 1952.

Joining classmate John Arnold, he traveled west to Seattle’s Harborview Hospital for his medical internship and residency. It was at Harborview that he met his wife, Lola, a nursing student. He opened a pediatric practice on Mercer Island with Dr. Alfred Skinner in 1957. In 1985, he and Lola took early retirement to work in medical service and teaching for the next seven years in American Samoa, Zimbabwe and Peshawar, Pakistan, to work with Afghan refugees in 1989-90. Upon their return to the United States they spent another 3 years working with the Tulalip Tribes, where Lola had worked prior to going overseas. They finally retired full-time on their beloved Shaw Island. His and Lola’s community involvement, on Mercer Island and Shaw Island and San Juan County centered on church and social welfare, which meant helping others less fortunate than themselves, often in concert with their children.

Phil was a man of many talents. He built his Shaw home with his sons and became a skilled watercolorist, whose paintings hang proudly in many Shaw homes.

Family was at the heart of Phil’s life. He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Lola, and children Doug, Dave, Paul, Cynthia, Charlie and Chris and their spouses, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, all of whom he adored and advised. In lieu of flowers Phil would prefer memorials to Holden Village (HCOO, Stop 2, Chelan WA 98816), where the fishing for trout and inspiration never failed him.

A celebration of his life will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 7, at the Shaw Island Community Building. Anyone needing transportation from the ferry landing should contact Alex MacLeod (360-468-3742).