WHITMORE, Phillip B.
passed away September 17, 2019. Phil was born in Shenandoah, Iowa April 30, 1941, the third of five children born to Ralph and Frances Whitmore of Coin, IA. In 1959, shortly after his graduation from Coin HS, the Whitmore family moved to Safford, AZ. Phil attended EAJC (now EAC) in Thatcher where he was student body president. He then attended ASC (now NAU) at Flagstaff where he again served as student body president and somehow earned a B.S. in English, not a B.A. He pursued a Masters Degree in Political Science at the UofA while interning at the City of Tucson, but never managed to finish writing that thesis. His admiration for Tucson City Manager Mark Keane made him rethink any political aspirations because he saw that while a good politician can identify problems and legislate solutions, once the policy is set, the problem-solving is actually undertaken by others. He enjoyed solving problems. His career began in Tucson where he worked on downtown and neighborhood revitalization efforts. In 1981, he and his wife, Loraine moved to Portland, OR, where he went on to spearhead Metro Portland's nationally recognized Transit-Oriented Development Program. His commitment to furthering ways to marry public transportation projects with housing and private development never wavered. In 2008, Phil retired and Phil and Loraine began dividing their time between Portland and Tucson. They enjoyed travel, particularly long car trips in a convertible. Phil loved cars and he loved driving. He was also passionate about cycling, proud of riding over 100,000 miles with what is now the Portland Bicycling Club. Many times he rode the STP Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic as well as the El Tour de Tucson. He was interested in antiques, photography, vintage cars, and Formula One racing. He and Loraine were avid supporters of Wildcat sports. He was instrumental in establishing a scholarship fund at NAU with the support of fellow students of the graduating class of 1964. Intellectually curious, he was a voracious reader and gathered impressive knowledge of many topics. His mind was like a sponge, always absorbing new information, some of it fairly useless: he could identify the year, make and model of almost any car ever made by its front grille. He was a gifted raconteur whose sense of humor was unparalleled. His outsized personality and enthusiasm were evident to nearly everyone who met him. His enthusiasm was contagious to the point that when he was on a roll, you couldn't help but ride along with him. In 2013, Phil began suffering symptoms of a degenerative neuromuscular disease which left him paralyzed, a situation he handled with patience and grace. He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Loraine; brothers, Ed (Pat) Whitmore, Burlington, IA; Mike (Mary), Santa Rosa, CA; and Richard (Carolyn), Thatcher, AZ; many nieces and nephews; and a team of committed caregivers who enabled him to live at home and who never let him down. He was preceded in death by his parents and sister, Kay Anderson (Scott). At his request, no services are planned, but Phil hoped that fellow NAU alums (and others) would remember him with a contribution to the NAU Foundation, Class of 1964 Scholarship Fund. Arrangements by ADAIR FUNERAL HOMES, Dodge Chapel.