Phillip Victor Isola

Phillip Victor Isola passed away on April 5, 2025, at the age of 89.
Phil was born on November 17, 1935, in Detroit, Michigan, to Victor and Myrtle (Lambrecht) Isola. He attended St. Matthew's Elementary School and St. Anthony High School in Detroit. Following graduation in 1953, Phil began working in downtown Detroit in the mailroom at the Michigan-Wisconsin Gas Company, but he was soon drafted and served six years in the United States Army. Upon discharge from active duty, Phil was reemployed by the gas company.
On April 30, 1960, Phil married Linda Louise Hood at Our Lady Queen of Peace in Harper Woods, Michigan, and they had three children, Dave, Dan, and Julie. Phil was a member of the usher's club at Queen of Peace Parish and the dad's club at Bishop Gallagher High School, and he coached his sons' little league baseball team. The Isola family spent several summer vacations in Port Austin, Michigan, and traveled to Florida for spring break, stopping in the Smokey Mountains on the way.
In November 1995, Phil retired as an Assistant Vice President of ANR Pipeline, and three years later he and Linda moved to Port Huron, Michigan. They enjoyed watching freighters pass along the shores of Lake Huron and the start of the Port Huron to Mackinac sailboat race from their lake-front property. They also enjoyed traveling, particularly to Seattle and Chicago to visit their sons and their families, and they spent the winter months in Perdido Key, Florida. In 2017, Phil and Linda moved to Macomb, Michigan, to be closer to family.
Phil was an avid sports fan and was devoted to the Detroit Tigers in particular. For several years, he joined his work colleague and close friend Walter Woods to watch the University of Michigan football team play the Ohio State University Buckeyes. They took great pleasure in calling Noel Mermer, an OSU graduate who also worked at the gas company, when U of M won the game. Phil and Walter would also attend monthly lunches with "the Old Timer's Group" of fellow retirees from ANR. Sadly, Noel passed away in 1992 and Walter passed in 2023. Phil's smile lit up a room and he had a genuine warm and friendly disposition and sense of humor that drew many people to him, even during the past seven months during his decline in health and many hospitalizations. Remarkably, Phil rarely complained and he continued to flash his infectious smile when someone attended to his needs or came to visit him. Phil's family is comforted by the fact that he is no longer suffering, and that he has gone onto God's heavenly kingdom and has been warmly welcomed by his dearly deceased family and friends.
Phil is survived by his loving and devoted wife Linda of nearly 65 years, and by his children David (Laurie), Daniel (Ann), and Julianne (Kurt) Ruecke. He is also survived by his grandchildren Stephanie (Michael) Benedict, Patrick (Katrina), Andie, Michael (Alyssa), Matthew (Rachel), and Mitchell Hart, and step granddaughter Kiersten Ruecke, and his five great grandchildren Lacey, Charlotte, Dillon, Chase, and Olivia. Phil is also survived by his sisters Mary Purvis and Lois Pasqual, and was preceded in death by his parents Victor and Myrtle, his sisters Joanne Ferguson, Carolyn Pilon, and Ellen O'Connor, and his brothers in law John Purvis, William Ferguson, Robert Pasqual and Bill O'Connor. Phil also has many nieces, nephews and extended family, and he will be greatly missed at the Ferguson's Christmas Eve gathering and other family events.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Kindering, an organization that provides therapy and support to children of diverse abilities, including to Phil's great grandson Dillon.