Phillip Andrew Janikowski

1937 - 2025

Phillip Andrew Janikowski
Born: May 17, 1937
Died: April 1, 2025
Phillip Andrew Janikowski (May 17, 1937 – April 1, 2025), died at Big Meadows nursing home in Savanna, Illinois after a short illness. He was 87 years old. He was preceded in death by his siblings, John Janikowski and Jacqueline (Janikowski) Meakin.
Phillip was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan where he spent his early childhood. He was an adventurous child and spent time playing on the Sault St. Marie railroad bridge with his young friends. That spirit of adventure and enthusiasm for life continued when his family moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he and his friends played by jumping from garage rooftop to rooftop in the dense cityscape. He attended grade school and high school in Detroit and was not a stellar student, although highly intelligent. In fact, he would later become a member of Mensa. His school report cards reflected nothing of the sort.
However, in high school he discovered a subject which would become a lifelong passion. He participated in the Civilian Air Patrol, which paved his way to join the Marines after high school graduation. He was stationed in California, Hawaii and Japan, learning about radio use and repair, radar installations and marksmanship. The Marines provided enough training that when he was discharged, IBM immediately hired him. This was the dawn of the computer age, and his love of computers only grew over time.
His career included installing and programming mainframe systems for many companies, including International Harvester, Veterans Administration, Standard Oil and United Airlines. As an "IBM-er," he worked on the United States northern radar system, which protected the US from air attack. His career blossomed into teaching mainframe use and programming to client and IBM staff. His genuine care for the people around him combined with his technical skills made him a beloved teacher and he was proud of his teaching career. His desire to be part of a team with a mission also inspired him to join the Naval Reserve. He traveled the world to engage in anti-submarine activities. When he finally retired from IBM, he continued working on computers. He programmed manufacturing robots and wrote the user manuals.
While he worked on the northern US border radar system, he met and married his children's mother, Lynn Jones in Duluth, Minnesota. They had three children, Claire (Predrag) Bozic, Melissa (Thad) Taylor, and Thomas (Debbie) Janikowski. Phillip and Lynn parted ways in the early 80s, and Phillip went on to find new love. Arlene McNeil was a caring wife and partner for the next 30 years. Phil enjoyed a close relationship with her sons, Jeff McNeil of La Crosse, Wisconsin and Tim McNeil of Fox River Grove. Phillip also leaves behind grandchildren, Joseph Janikowski, Jessica Schreiber, Frank Shreiber, Mae Taylor, Zoe Taylor, Dimitra Bozic and Nenad Bozic. We will all miss Phillip's kindness and love of people. May God remember Phillip and grant him eternal life and rest.
Visitation will be held at Kahle-Moore Funeral Home in Cary, Illinois on Wednesday April 9, 4-8 pm. Internment will take place at Camp Butler National Cemetery in Springfield, Illinois when arrangements can be made.