Obituary of David Eugene Phillips

David "Gene" Eugene Phillips lived with indomitable spirit. Born in King City California; he spent much of his first few years in various cities in the west, moving at the need of his father's career as a pilot. The family settled in Los Gatos, it was struck with polio in the mid 1950's, sparing only Gene's father. After years of recovery in Santa Monica, California, the family returned to Los Gatos where Gene would become involved in many organizations over many years, including Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and DeMolay. Although he had many pursuits, his early passions were music and aviation. Those passions lead him to Air Force ROTC, and BA in Music at San Jose State University. Color vision problems kept him out the skies, and his love for music became everything. It steered him toward a career in Audio Engineering that spanned four decades and was instrumental in meeting his wife. Perhaps his greatest delight in music was teaching music for Cazadero Performing Arts Camp in the late 1960's. He later worked to help relaunch the camp in the mid 1990's by joining the board of directors and volunteering all the time he could. Undeniably greater than his passion for music was his love for family. In 1970 he married his wife Margaret who would remain at his side for the next 44 years, and together they raised their two sons at their home in Scotts Valley. Gene never passed up an opportunity to spend time with his family. He saw his sons marry in 2010 and 2011, and he met his four grandchildren, the youngest born just after Christmas in 2014. The years were not kind and his body began to fail. He retired in 2004 when decades long battle with Diabetes made him unable continue. Against the odds, he fought to stay with us, giving us many more years of wisdom, love and kindness. On Tuesday he suddenly passed into legend, losing the battle against complications related to his long struggle. His legacy and indomitable spirit are survived by his wife, Margaret, his brother Tom, his sons David and Douglas, and four grandchildren: Cody, David Everett, Abigail, and Greyson, which all mirror the very best that Gene brought to this world. He will be missed, and remembered lovingly by family, friends and colleagues. Services for Gene will be held at Santa Cruz Memorial, 1927 Ocean St. on Saturday January 17th from 2 to 3pm. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that any contributions be sent in his honor to Cazadero Performing Arts Camp (www.cazadero.org), where an endowment has been established to provide scholarships for students to attend. If you would like to send your condolences to Gene's family, share your memories, or light a candle in his memory please visit www.scmemorial.com.