NEAL, Philip O.

March 05, 1918 - August 02, 2020

Philip, or Dad, Grandpa, Great Grandpa was born in the last pandemic in 1918 and died August 2nd during the current one. His life spanned vast technological leaps, from going to church in a horse & buggy in northern England, to fixing planes for the RAF on D-Day, to catching up with his family on Facebook on his iPad. Phil spent half the war in Canada, where he fell in love with the country as well as with a woman also named Phil: our Mother, Grandmother and Great-Grandmother. They moved back to BC after the war, where he worked first as a sign painter and ultimately as an accountant. They had four children, Terry (Kevin), David (Sheryl), Sylvia (Dave) and Michael (Mary-Ann), who also had children, some of whom also had children. In total he had 10 grandchildren and 6 greatgrandchildren. All these generations were anchored together by this kind, gentle man who liked nothing more than to see them all. He and Phyllis retired to Pender Island in 1983, and his house was a destination for all of us with the best view in BC out the windows, and the best stories told within. Philip was predeceased by his wife Phyllis and daughter Sylvia. He will be greatly missed by all of us and his many friends on Pender Island, especially Elana Baxter who enabled him to stay on Pender until the end.