Elda Maria Torres Phillips

Elda Maria Torres Phillips, an esteemed professor of Spanish Language and Literature and devoted wife, mother, and grandmother, passed away peacefully on Saturday, July 15, 2023, in Marin County, California. She was two weeks shy of turning 90 years old. Elda was born on July 30, 1933, in Havana, Cuba to Armando S. Torres and Zoila Isabel Arias-Forn. An avid reader from a young age, she loved visiting her uncle's house, where she would climb her favorite tree and spend hours happily devouring book after book. Sometimes, her uncle's neighbor would call out, "Hola Eldita!" and ask her what she was reading. The neighbor happened to be Ernest Hemingway, and unsurprisingly, Eldita developed a passion for writing, scripting a school play and sending her short stories to magazines. Writing came easily to her in her native tongue, but at the age of 13, Elda immigrated to New York City after Armando began working as a translator at the United Nations. It didn't take long for her to adapt to reading and writing in English. In fact, only seven months after arriving in New York, she published her first English language piece in her junior high school paper, saying: "I wish all the people could be in the world that I am, when I'm writing, a world where all is peaceful, a world of fantasy and beauty." Her early experiences foretold a lifelong passion for language. In 1955, Elda graduated from Hunter College in NYC with a B.A (Honors) in Romance Languages and French and Spanish Literature. During college, she spent a summer as a waitress at The Balsams Resort, in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, where she met the love of her life, Richard Myron Phillips. They married in 1955 and their love story spanned 62 years, until Richard's passing in 2017. Upon Richard's graduation from Yale Law School in 1957, the couple relocated to Seattle where Richard served as an officer with the Navy JAG Corps. Elda made her first foray into the world of teaching at Bellevue High School, where she taught French and Spanish. Their first child, Laurie Gwen, was welcomed into the world in 1959. Shortly thereafter, in 1960, the young family relocated to the Washington DC area. In the ensuing years, Elda gave birth to David Wendell (1962) and Stephen Kendall (1965). Despite her growing family responsibilities, Elda's pursuit of learning and literary scholarship endured. She returned to school, earning a Master's Degree from American University in 1971 and subsequently, a Ph.D. in Spanish Literature from George Washington University in 1982. As a professor of Spanish and Spanish Literature, Elda taught at The American University, Mount Vernon College, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and the University of Maryland. She found immense joy in teaching and formed cherished relationships with many of her students and faculty colleagues. In addition to teaching, Elda exhibited a keen interest and scholarship in the Spanish theater. Elda published her groundbreaking book on Spanish playwright Jose Ruibal, "Idea, signo y mito en el teatro de José Ruibal," in 1984, after studying his life's work and interviewing the playwright several times. She also had a passion for politics and became active in the Mondale and Dukakis Presidential campaigns and served as the Communications Director for the National Hispanic Democrats. Fittingly, she was an avid supporter of public libraries and literacy, serving in the 1990s on the Board of Trustees for the District of Columbia Public Library System. Elda's love of learning about the world went beyond her academic career. She reveled in her role as the family's travel planner for vacations near and far, where her fluency in Spanish and French came in handy. Elda and Richard fell in love with Spain, where Elda's grandparents were born, which led to many family trips exploring the country. She also traveled with Richard for his work to Brazil and China and to other remote destinations like India, Nepal, and Australia. In their later years, they enjoyed frequent organized trips to London to study and attend Shakespeare theater. They also loved driving up the coast to Ashland, Oregon for more Shakespeare. Elda's eclectic love for music spanned from Flamenco guitar and Reggae to the Beatles and Joan Baez. Her interest in cinema was just as diverse, appreciating both moody foreign films and lighthearted genres such as Mel Brooks comedies and 007 James Bond thrillers. In 2000, Richard and Elda moved from Washington, D.C. to Tiburon, to be closer to their three children all of whom had somehow ended up in Marin County, along with their growing number of grandchildren. Uprooting their well-established lives and moving across the country was a true gift to their entire family. Elda is fondly remembered for her diverse and passionate interests, her quirky sense of humor and above all, for her love of family. She was predeceased by her husband, Richard Phillips. She is survived by her children Laurie (Scott) Dubin, David (Mary) Phillips, and Stephen (Wendy) Phillips, all of Larkspur, as well as nine grandchildren: Zach, Alex, and Lindsay Dubin; Sophie, Dominic, Alexandra, Henry and James Phillips, and Gabriel (Chloe) de Forest, as well as one great-grandchild, Aria de Forest. Elda lived a full life. Her contributions to her field and her family will be remembered fondly. She will be missed. Donations in Elda’s memory may be made for the soon-to-be constructed Larkspur Public Library and its landscaping and outdoor gathering spaces campaign at www.thecommonsatlarkspur.org.