Phillip Frank Brease

Phillip Frank Brease, 61, died while leading a school hike in Healy on Wednesday, May 12, 2010.
Phil was born Feb. 15, 1949, in Grand Rapids, Mich., to Phillip John and Doris (Gillette) Brease. Encouraged by his father's love for clarinet music, he played in a professional jazz band as a young boy, once performing with Dizzy Gillepsie. The fields and woods around Grand Rapids provided experiences of the uncharted, the untraveled, and were a place of discovery for Phil and his friends. 
After lively childhood years filled with exploration and limit-pushing, he enjoyed several cross-country trips with his good friend Rick Freeman and first wife Anna. He was drafted and served nearly two years in the U.S. Army Infantry stationed in Germany. It was in the Army that he delved into philosophy with his fellow soldiers and developed a strong sense of spiritual understanding.
He discovered his love for geology after getting a job in the U.S. Forest Service. After graduating from Central Washington University, Phil followed, in his words, "a long and unstable slope" toward Denali. His adventures included working for the Wenatchee National Forest in Washington and the Bureau of Land Management as a mineral patent examiner and lease evaluator in Idaho, the North Slope and Glennallen.
One of his fondest periods was the time spent designing and building the Pacific Crest Trail in Washington's Cascade Mountains. In 1986, Phil came to Denali to work with the mining evaluation process in Kantishna and quickly became an integral member of the natural resource management team. He honed his personal skills working with miners and departmental solicitors to provide scientific input to contentious situations. During the first half of his Denali career, he evaluated mining plans and assessed claims. The latter half of his career provided him with opportunities to interpret the history of mining and restoring mined lands to a variety of audiences. 
His tasks during his years at Denali also included evaluating landslides and slumps, geologic mapping, designing the park's first roadside trail, establishing a glacier monitoring program, and work in paleontology and structural geology. He facilitated research with a wide network of geologists and paleontologists, acting as a uniting force to better understand the geology of the Alaska Range. Evidence of the great support he gave to geologic research was the naming of a Devonian brachiopod in Phil's honor, the Myriospirifer breasei.
Two of his favorite topics, the Denali Fault and dinosaurs, developed substantial public interest - due in no small part to his legendary presentation style. Education and outreach provided Phil a venue where he could share his passion for geology with core values of civic engagement and information sharing. He was a well-known figure in the Denali area, well known by school students, tour drivers and guides in Denali, park staff and countless visitors. They became familiar with Phil's engaging mix of wit and excitement in his presentations making the most unsuspecting listeners into geology fans. 
Phil's engaging personality was always welcome, particularly his constant insightful wit that forced humor and humility on any situation - painful though some of those puns might have been. That wit, coupled with his dedication, honesty and sense of civic duty, allowed Phil to make meaningful contributions to his community including membership on the Denali Borough School Board, a local homeowners' association and countless NPS workgroups. Phil provided a clear and honest approach to evaluating situations and solving problems.
Though he had a busy work life, his family life was his primary focus. Phil loved being a husband and father.
Phil and his wife, Barbara, fell in love on Ruth Glacier. They married four months later on the beach in Kuaui, Hawaii. After a few years, they had two daughters who enriched their lives even more.  
Phil, Barb and the girls enjoyed outdoor adventures with their extended Alaska "family" of friends. He encouraged his wife and daughters to join him in the field, when possible.
Phil organized a bluegrass music group made up of close friends and their children to nurture their love for music. The "Kantishna Hillbillies" featuring the "Healy Mountain Girls" were a hit at area bluegrass festivals. He was involved in many ways with his kids, whether it was researching a science fair project together, being available for a late-night phone call to discuss a boyfriend issue or lying in the desert watching the stars on a family vacation, Phil relished life.
Phil's great attitude, commitment to family and community, and scientific inquiry will be greatly missed, but his love of life has left a legacy that will continue to inspire. He has left big shoes to Phil.
Phil is survived by his wife, Barbara Brease, and children Michael Lynum, Anastasia Brease and Emily Brease; and pets, Coco, Kisses and Natalie. He also is survived by sister Roma Harris, nieces and nephews, Cheryl, Cathy, Paul, Jim, Carl and Brian Harris; in-laws, Janet and Frank Higgins; brothers and sisters-in-law, Jeff and Michele Higgins, their family Molly and Duke, and Randy and Therese Higgins and their children Jake and Brad; cousins and other extended family including, Bonnie and Fred Evans, Lori and Case Schitema, Roger and Jan Tenelshof, Shirley and Al Vanden Toorn, Wayne and Shirley Vanderklippe, Ryan and Barb Gillette, Barbara Gastineau, Bela Csjey, Rick Freeman and Robert Blodgett. He shared his life with dear friends and colleagues near and far.
He was preceded in death by his loving parents, Doris and Phillip John Brease.
The Brease's address is P.O. Box 549, Healy, AK 99743. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to Alaska Wildlife Alliance or Fairbanks Animal Shelter.
A memorial will be held at 6:30 p.m., Friday, May 21, at the Denali Visitor Center with a reception to follow.
For information contact Kris Fister at 683-9583 or kris_fister@nps.gov or Guy Adema at 683- 6356 or guy_adema@nps.gov.