Louis C. Phillips

Louis C. Phillips, 92, passed away on January 6, 2022 at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center, Wilkes Barre, PA.  Louis was born on July 16, 1929 in Chester, PA, son of the late Louis and Mary Finocchio Phillips. 

 He was a devoted lover of the written word.  He attended St. Joseph’s University and the University of Rome, then obtained Master of Fine Arts degrees at the University of Notre Dame and the State University of Iowa in the acclaimed Iowa Writer’s Workshop, class of 1957.  Soon after he become a professor of creative writing.  His teaching career spanned several institutions, including the University of San Diego, Central State University, and Sinclair Community College.  His first love was writing, however, and he was a poet and novelist at heart, devoting most of his life to his body of work, in pursuit of literary excellence.

Notably, Louis was a survivor of the infamous 1974 Xenia Tornado, part of the Super Outbreak of 1974, one of the largest tornado outbreaks in US history.  The storm claimed his home, but he and his family were spared that day.  He remained in Xenia, Ohio until 2018 when his health necessitated a move closer to family in the Philadelphia and Wilkes Barre areas.     

He was preceded in death by his brothers Victor Phillips and Joseph Phillips and his sisters Rose Phillips Fidale, Gloria Phillips Hundley, Rita Phillips Herrick, and Carmella Phillips Newkirk. 

He is survived by his sons Blake Phillips, of Xenia, OH, and Jason Phillips, of Philadelphia, PA, son-in-law Chad Schleig of Philadelphia, PA, as well as nieces and nephews Sandra Fidale Millison of North Bend, WA, Wayne Hundley of Bear, DE, Victor and Anne Hundley of Atglen, PA and Anthony Newkirk of Little Rock, AR.     

Private services will be held at Immaculate Heart of Mary Cemetery in Linwood, PA.

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