Peter Van Ness Philip

Peter Van Ness Philip died on July 2nd in Manchester, Vermont;. he was 95 years old. Peter was born in New York City in 1925 to Van Ness and Lilian Philip and was a long-standing resident of New York City and Bedford, NY. As a child he spent his summers at his family’s camp in the Adirondacks. A graduate of Staten Island Academy and The Brooks School, he attended college at Yale University and, after the conclusion of the Second World War, graduated as part of the Class of 45W. Misrepresenting his true age, Peter enlisted in the United States Army as a 17 year old and during World War II served as a Machine Gun Sergeant and was awarded a Purple Heart after sustaining life-threatening injuries in the Battle of the Ruhr Pocket which followed upon the Battle of The Bulge. In May of 1952, Peter married Sabina FitzGibbon, his wife of 63 years. Together they had three children, all boys: William Van Ness, Thomas Winslow and Peter Sandys. Sabina died in 2015 after a long illness. After Yale, Peter began his professional career at Price, Waterhouse after which he entered the field of Municipal Bond Finance, first at W.H. Morton & Co (where he eventually became President and CEO) and then at White, Weld & Co and The Morgan Guarantee Trust Company. A talented racquets player, Peter was the captain of the Yale squash team and an avid amateur racquets player after college. Upon meeting and then marrying Sabina, however, Peter took up the game of golf and that game soon became his enduring passion; he has passed along his love and respect for the game to his children and grandchildren. An active and committed volunteer, Peter dedicated many years of his life to causes that were important to him including serving on boards and committees at Brooks School, Yale University, St Anthony’s Hall, and The Buckley School. Peter greatly enjoyed his associations with friends and as a result, he was often asked to serve in leadership roles at some of his favorite clubs including being President of The Bedford Golf and Tennis Club, a Governor of the Ekwanok Country Club, President of the Father & Son Golf Association and Treasurer of the United States Senior Golf Association. Peter is survived by his three sons: William and his wife Jennifer of Simsbury, CT, Thomas and his wife Lela of Greenwich, CT and Peter and his wife Victoria of Boynton Beach, FL and by seven grandchildren. Services will be private; in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to either the Ekwanok Scholarship Fund, (3262 Main Street, PO Box 467, Manchester, VT 05254) or the Hildene Museum, (PO Box 377, Manchester, VT 05254). A reception will be held in his honor at a later date at the Ekwanok Country Club, Manchester, VT.