Phillip A. Willingham

Phillip A. Willingham
January 16, 1981 - December 18, 2017
Phillip was born on January 16, 1981 in Logan Utah to Paul Willingham and Mary Rosen. Phillip attended Hemingway Elementary and lived in Sun Valley, Idaho. Phillip was an active child and he and his brother Jason were kept busy with many activities including Taekwondo, ice hockey, sledding and skiing including racing in the kinder cup.
Phillip moved to Lava Hot Springs his 6th grade year and attended Lava Hot Springs elementary. He was voted "most valued student" by his teacher, Mrs. Koonce. He went on to middle school at Marsh Valley Middle School where he was active in football, wrestling and skiing at Pebble Creek. He worked that summer at Nance Ranch in Dietrich and purchased a dirt bike. He and his cousin Joe Nance had many adventures on that dirt bike around Lava Hot Springs including regular camping trips down the road from our house. He was adventurous!
Phillip then went back to Sun Valley for 8th and 9th grade at Wood River High School. He played football, wrestled and loved skiing at Soldier and Bald Mountains. He worked for Base Mountain Properties and Coleman Construction where he learned the fine art of concrete finishing.
Phillip graduated from Wendell High School in 2000. During that time he put in more time working at Nance Ranch. Russell "Rut" & Cyndi Rost also Kept Phillip busy doing Construction around Wendell and he worked a summer in Pine, Idaho. Phillip had many adventures during this time. He began fly fishing and he continued this hobby until he had perfected this skill. He bought his first vehicle from his Mom and Rod and it wasn't long before he traded this off on his little white Toyota pickup.
Phillip decided to follow the career path of two of his uncles and chose to go to Northwest Line School in Meridian, Idaho where he graduated in 2001. During his apprenticeship he spent time working in Austin, Texas and he loved it there taking full advantage of the great music and swimming at awesome local hotspots! Phillip then moved to Davenport, WA and did Electrical Union work for Bonneville Power and Light near Bonneville Dam. This is when he had a horrible accident, falling from a transition tower. He worked hard at physical therapy but these injuries were so severe that they plagued Phillip all along. Phillip then chose to enter Centralia College and graduated in March, 2009 with an Associates of Applied Science in Energy Technology.
While searching for a job in this new chosen field he spent the summer of 2009 in Stanley, Idaho where he ran his Dad's family's business, Danner Cabins. He had a great summer of fishing, camping and hunting with family and friends. Stanley was Phillip's favorite place in the world!
He was then hired and went to work for Union Pacific Railroad where he was employed until his death. He traveled all over the United States including Louisiana and Texas. Phillip built his home in Boise in 2012. He took so much pride in his home and yard, always working to make improvements. Phillip loved to ski and he and his sister Ashley hit the slopes, skiing Brundage, Bogus Basin and Soldier Mountain on a regular basis.
Phillip met the loves of his life Lori Bahem in 2017. Lori and Phillip and Lori's boys, Blaine, Ty and Kason made many long lasting memories including riding his Razor to Silver City and exploring the foothills of Boise looking at wildflowers and picking huckleberries.
Phillip is survived by his Mom, Mary Rosen (Rod), Sister, Ashley Rosen. Father Paul Willingham (Sandra), children, William Wolcott (Kris) children, Eliza and William III, Jessica Wolcott (Greg Randolph) children, Maddy and Amanda. Brother, Jason Willingham (Heather) children, Paislee, Conway, Gabe, Jaden, Tyler, Angeleigh and Carson. And of course we have to mention Stella, his loyal and faithful Jack Russell Terrier.
You will always be beside us and always in our hearts. We will honor your memory in all we do and continue our adventures fishing and hunting in the all your favorite places. We love you babe and we will miss you so very much.
The Celebration of Life for Phillip will be held Thursday, December 28th at the Oak Barrel Restaurant, 1065 E. Winding Creek Drive, Eagle, Idaho beginning at 3:00 pm.