Obit of Phillips, Vernon - Grady County, Oklahoma Transcribed by: Gene Phillips 11 Feb 2007 Return to Grady County Archives: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/grady/grady.html ===================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ===================================================================== ::NOT LISTED Santa Rosa Press Democrat Published on January 29, 2000 Vernon E. Phillips, a hotel manager who made the Flamingo Hotel a center of Santa Rosa's social scene in the 1960s, died Wednesday in a Petaluma convalescent home. He was 83. Born in Oklahoma, Phillips grew up on a farm near Tuttle, Okla., and volunteered for the U.S. Air Force when World War II broke out, said his brother, Robert Phillips of Petaluma. Phillips served as a radio operator on a B-24, flying missions over the Pacific. When the war ended, Phillips studied the hotel and restaurant business at City College in San Francisco. He worked as a manager at several of the city's finest hotels, including the Fairmont and Sir Francis Drake. Phillips and his wife, Jane, moved to Santa Rosa in 1961 when he became general manager of the Flamingo Hotel. Phillips drew large crowds to the hotel when he began offering dinner theater productions, staging audience favorites like "Guys and Dolls," "The Fantasticks" and "Bye, Bye, Birdie," while selling fancy dinners of filet mignon for $20 a plate. After retiring from the Flamingo, Phillips continued to run his own catering business. "He liked to cook," his brother said. "His main hobby was cooking. He would have a party just so he could cook." Phillips and his wife were familiar sights at the Luther Burbank Home and Gardens, where they volunteered as docents. In his spare time, Phillips enjoyed golfing and traveling. In addition to his brother, Phillips is survived by two daughters, Victoria Phillips of San Francisco and Jennifer Phillips of New York City; two sons, Richard Phillips of Reno and Fred Phillips of Forestville; and another brother, John Phillips of Stockton. A memorial service is pending. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to Grady County Archives: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/grady/grady.html