Philip John Garthe

Garthe, Philip John
passed away peacefully after a brief illness, surrounded by his loving family on January 13, 2012 at the age of 79 years. Philip was born to Dorothy Garthe July 14, 1932 in Suttons Bay, Michigan. He married his high school sweetheart, Janet (Jan) Hollowell, in Ann Arbor, Michigan on September 30, 1950. He graduated from Purdue University as a Mechanical Engineer in 1956 and was employed by the General Motors Proving Ground near Milford, Michigan. In 1959 he transferred to the GM Desert Proving Ground near Mesa, Arizona from where he retired in 1985 as a Test and Development Engineer with the GM Chevrolet Division. He was a member of King of Glory Lutheran Church in Tempe, Arizona. During his working years, he was active in the Society of Automotive Engineers, serving as Chairman of the Arizona Section. He was also Chairman of the Society's International Brake Committee and was nominated to serve on its Board of Directors. He and his wife were very active in their various churches, spending much of their spare time building a 57-rank pipe organ for their Arizona church, King of Glory Lutheran in Tempe, Arizona. They were also members of the American Guild of Organists and part-time representatives for the Wicks Pipe Organ Company. Upon retirement, he was an engineering consultant and continued his pipe organ pursuits, but eventually limited his activities primarily to gardening, puzzle solving and volunteering with his wife as an instructor for the AARP Driver Safety Program (55 Alive). Survivors include his wife Jan of Mesa, two sons, Philip Jr. of Pollock Pines, CA and David of Glendale, AZ; two daughters, Susan Garthe and Deborah Cautard of Seattle, WA; six grandchildren and six great grandchildren. There will be no service at his request. Memorial contributions (and in lieu of flowers) may be made in his name to the American Cancer Society.