WILLIAM PHILLIPS

PHILLIPS WILLIAM H. PHILLIPS, III A Capitol Hill businessman whose unstinting service to his family, church and community was a hallmark of his life, died December 31, 2016, at the George Washington University Hospital, following a stroke. He was 72. The president of William H. Phillips & Company, a trust and investment counseling firm, Bill spent much of his career in financial advising, banking and political fundraising. He served 10 years in senior positions at the American Bankers Association, where he developed and strengthened its alliance with state banking associations. He was an officer of banks in Alabama and Florida, and managed retirement and other employee benefit plans. Bill was active in Democratic politics at all levels, in particular as staff director of a subcommittee of the U.S. House Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs Committee, and as legislative director for then-U.S. Rep. Ben Erdreich of Alabama. He managed several congressional election campaigns and had extensive experience in political fundraising and strategy. To his friends in the Capitol Hill neighborhood and his fellow parishioners of St. Peter's Catholic Church, Bill will be best remembered for the unfailing generosity with which he shared his time and talents. Among other things, he was a director and secretary of the Capitol Hill Community Foundation, manager of the endowment trust of Capitol Hill Village, and a founder and treasurer of the Friends of Garfield Park. He acted as a financial and tax adviser to numerous friends and neighbors. A longtime parishioner of St. Peter's, Bill was a man of great faith. He attended Mass daily, often assisting as lector, Eucharistic minister, altar server and sacristan. He was the manager of the parish's endowment trust and served for a time as chair of its finance council. For more than 30 years, he was both friend and adviser to a succession of St. Peter's pastors. As a young man, he was spiritually formed as a member of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, a Catholic religious order, and he was ever after devoted to the Brothers and several affiliated Lasallian volunteer groups. William H. Phillips III was born November 20, 1944, in Baltimore. He was the son of the late Mary Patricia Smyth and William H. Phillips Jr. He received a B.A. in political science from LaSalle College in Philadelphia, and studied trust management at the University of Florida and Northwestern University. Bill was a railroad buff, and volunteered as porter and steward on the "Dover Harbor," an operating Pullman car of the D.C. Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. He invariably sported a bow tie, and had an easy and engaging smile. Bill was a gardener, woodworker and dog lover, with a special fondness for St. Bernards. In 2013, he received a Capitol Hill Community Achievement Award from the Capitol Hill Community Foundation. The Archdiocese of Washington awarded him its 75th Anniversary Medal in 2014. And, in 2016, the Christian Brothers honored him as an Affiliated Member of the Institute. He is survived by his beloved wife, Monica C. Sullivan of Capitol Hill; his children, Kate Hosmer (John) and William H. Phillips, IV, of Birmingham, AL; his grandchildren, Benjamin, Matthew, Joseph and Isaac Hosmer; his sister, Mary Feeney (Michael) of Lawrenceville, GA; and several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his sister, Russell Welch (John) of Mt. Airy, MD. He is also mourned by Peggy Phillips, Trudy Phillips and countless friends in the Capitol Hill and St. Peter's communities, who will miss his selfless spirit. Visitation will be on Thursday, January 5, from 5 to 8 p.m. and Friday, January 6 from 9 to 10 a.m. at St. Peter's Catholic Church, 313 Second Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003 (one block from the Capitol South Metro station). A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. January 6 at St. Peter's. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to St. Peter's Endowment Trust Fund, 313 Second Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003; Capitol Hill Community Foundation, 419 East Capitol Street, Washington, DC 20003; and Lasallian Volunteers, Hecker Center, Suite 300, 3025 Fourth Street, NE, Washington, DC 20017.In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to St. Peter's Endowment Trust Fund, 313 Second Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003; Capitol Hill Community Foundation, 419 East Capitol Street, Washington, DC 20003; and Lasallian Volunteers, Hecker Center, Suite 300, 3025 Fourth Street, NE, Washington, DC 20017.