Robert Bob' Brooks Phillips November 28, 1932 - November 8, 2021 San Diego, CA
Robert Bob' Brooks Phillips, 88, died on November 8, 2021 in San Diego, California. He loved his family, his friends and his country. He will be remembered as energetic, warm, patient and endlessly curious, as well as a great mentor to colleagues, friends and young people.
Bob was a proud veteran and passionate about honoring veterans through his work on the Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial. He was a consummate advertising and marketing professional and avid sports enthusiast, enjoying racquetball and hiking with his children.
Throughout his life, he was extensively involved in community and philanthropic activities, serving on the boards of the San Diego Historical Society, the USA Volleyball team, the Coronado Playhouse and was a driving force behind the La Jolla Executive Roundtable since its inception.
Bob was born November 28, 1932 in St. Louis, Missouri. He went to John Burroughs School, and then graduated from the University of Virginia, majoring in economics and minoring in psychology; a perfect combination for a person heading into the world of advertising and marketing.
Upon graduation, Bob joined the U.S. Navy where he served in the Pacific from 1954 to 1956 as a gunnery officer and navigator aboard the USS Whiteside (AKA-90).
After the Navy, he began a career in advertising and marketing that would span six decades. In 1957, he married Georgia Lee Berkley and they had three children together. One of their mutual adventures was to move to San Diego in 1972, where he would eventually start two firms of his own. Over the years he became an industry leader specializing in sports-related clients and garnering a reputation as an iconoclast.
In the 1980s, after 30 years together, Bob and Lee parted ways very amicably, maintaining a close-knit family until the end. In 1998, Bob met Verda Flannery through a client in Coronado, and they enjoyed 20 happy years together, both in Coronado and in Verda's native South Dakota, until her death in 2017.
Bob's later years were fulfilled through his association with the Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial, which he said was one of the more meaningful and gratifying experiences of his entire business career. There he directed the marketing efforts of the building of the Veterans Memorial Walls, honoring the service of U.S. veterans from all branches of the military through plaques bearing etched photographs and military records on concentric walls of black granite. His own plaque can be found there.
Bob liked to remark that he had three priorities in life: family, friends, and intellectual stimulation. He especially loved talking to the next generation and became a mentor for many of them, including his own grandchildren. He would famously start conversations by asking them "What's your bliss?" The age gap never mattered to him and he recently said that his mentors used to be 40 years older, but were now 50 years younger.
Bob is survived by his three children, Rob Phillips, Brook Phillips Robertson and Berkley Phillips, five grandchildren, and his former wife Lee Berkley Cudlip, whom he credits with inculcating a lifelong passion for learning in all three of their children.
Towards the end, he was ever the optimist, viewing the glass as "half full" and remarking what a lucky guy he was, even telling his children only two weeks before his death, "I am so happy."
Bob will be buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in mid-January, followed by a celebration of life party. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Sponsored by Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.
3 Entries
Bob will be missed, he never failed to be interested in how I was doing and would always bring great conversation when we were together. I met him through Verda and it was an honor to get to know Bob.
Craig Markhardt
Family
November 25, 2021
So sad to hear of Bob's passing. He was a mentor to my mother, and I learned so much from our lunches together. I will miss him.
John Stubbs
Friend
November 21, 2021
More than a special friend....a lifetime of wonderful memories are being saved.
Susie Tyler
Friend
November 21, 2021
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Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery1880 Cabrillo Memorial Dr, San Diego, CA 92106
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