Philip Read

Philip Allen Read VIRGINIA BEACH - Philip Allen Read, 85, died Oct. 13, 2008, at Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital after a brief illness. He was born to John Pendleton Read and Julia Allen Read, formerly of Lynchburg, Va., on Sept. 30, 1923. Mr. Read was predeceased by his parents and by his wife of 53 years, Ida Constable Read, formerly of Charlotte, N.C.; a brother, John Pendleton Read Jr.; and a sister, Caroline Gordon Read. Mr. Read graduated from Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Va., a member of the Class of 1945. He served in the United States Armed Forces during World War II and later served in the National Guard. He also attended the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. Mr. Read worked in the pharmaceutical industry for more than 40 years, primarily for Eaton Laboratories and its antecedents, Norwich-Eaton and Morton-Norwich of Norwich, N.Y. His career as salesman, regional manager and district manager established him in Charlotte and Greensboro, N.C., Alexandria, Va., Atlanta and Virginia Beach. He retired in 1994; his company was then a division of Proctor and Gamble of Cincinnati, Ohio. Mr. Read was an active member of Rotary International for more than half a century and was recognized this summer for maintaining 49 years of perfect attendance at its weekly meetings. He was a charter member of the Greensboro Rotary Club in the 1950s and became a charter member of the Courthouse Rotary Club in Virginia Beach earlier this year. A lifelong amateur genealogist and history buff, Mr. Read was proud to be descended from three of Virginia's Colonial Governors, Thomas West, Capt. John West and Alexander Spotswood. He also shared a common ancestor with George Washington, Nicolas Martiau, who was one of Washington's earliest ancestors in America. Mr. Read is survived by his daughter, Ida Katherine Read; his son, Philip Allen Read Jr., both of Virginia Beach; a sister-in-law, Martha Bynum Thomas Read of Lynchburg; two nieces, Martha Read Hoekstra of Greensboro and Julie Read Morrison of Wilmington, N.C.; a nephew, John Pendleton Read III of Lynchburg; and cousins, Phyllis Allen Eifert of Tryon, N.C., and Langhorne Sydnor Mauck of Martinsville, Va. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday in Galilee Episcopal Church in Virginia Beach. Mr. Read's remains and those of his wife will be interred in the Galilee Memorial Columbarium immediately following. A reception for Mr. Read's family and friends will be held at the church after the services. Arrangements are by H.D. Oliver Funeral Apts., Laskin Road Chapel. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be sent to either the Rotary Foundation or to the Keydet Club Scholarship Fund of Virginia Military Institute.