Linda Carolyn Phillips
| Linda Carolyn Phillips | |
|---|---|
| née Mitchell | |
| Born | 1942-12-25 Port Arthur |
| Died | 2021-03-10 Thunder Bay |
| Years in Thunder Bay | lifelong (1942–2021) |
| Occupation | executive secretary |
| Employer | Lakehead University |
| Father | |
| Mother | |
| Partner | |
| Children | |
Linda Carolyn Phillips (25 December 1942 – 10 March 2021 (aged 78)) was a Port Arthur-born secretary who worked for Lakehead University for almost 41 years, serving its first principal, its first president, Bill Tamblyn, and four more presidents after him. Born Linda Carolyn Mitchell, she married John in 1964.[1]
Early life
Linda was born in Port Arthur on Christmas Day, 1942, to Jack and Doris Mitchell. The family lived in a Cape Cod-style house that her parents built on the corner of Peter and Dawson Streets, and for thirty years her parents owned Mitchell's Drug Store at Bay and Algoma Streets (later Janzen’s Pharmacy). Her first job, at 16, was collecting supplies and delivering prescriptions for her father's customers.[1]
She attended Prospect Avenue School and the Port Arthur Collegiate Institute, then took a one-year special commercial course at Hillcrest High School, graduating in 1961.[1]
Career at Lakehead
Linda was hired as secretary to Harold Braun, principal of the Lakehead College of Arts, Science and Technology. When the college became a university in 1965 she became secretary to its first president, Bill Tamblyn. Her career at Lakehead lasted almost 41 years and spanned the principal, an acting president, John Whitfield, and five presidents: Tamblyn, Andrew Booth, George Harrower, Bob Rosehart and Fred Gilbert. She took early retirement in 2001, aged 59, to spend more time with her husband and family.[1]
Family and interests
Linda married John "Piper" Phillips on 27 June 1964. They were married for more than 54 years until his death at home on 8 September 2018, after a 17-year illness with chronic lymphocytic leukemia; they marked their 50th anniversary in 2014 with the last of nine cruises together. She was an avid reader, took up five-pin bowling after retiring, and cared for her own parents for many years. After John retired from Thunder Bay Hydro they toured Europe with their son Stephen, and the couple also holidayed in Florida, the Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii, Las Vegas and Alaska and cruised the Norwegian fjords to the North Cape. When their granddaughter April turned 12 they took her on a cruise around the British Isles and France, taking in the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Linda sang for many years in the choir of St. Andrew's Roman Catholic Church and also belonged to St. Anthony's Church. For more than 37 years she was a foster parent through Plan Canada, sponsoring eight children, one from Ecuador and the others from Colombia.[1]
She was survived by her son Stephen and his wife Lori, her grandchildren April (with her partner Brandon and their son Xander) and Mitchell, and by her sisters-in-law Jean, Marlene (husband Willie), Dolores and Virginia. Her husband, her parents, her brother Peter, her parents-in-law Vito and Rosa, and a long list of in-laws died before her, among them Ron and Rita Parker, Bill Rennick and Kay, Joseph Pomanti and Maria, George Bird and Florrie, Frank, Tony, Raymond, Rose, Chris, Anne, Rita Phillips and Helen.[1]
Death
Linda chose medical assistance in dying and died at home on 10 March 2021, aged 78, after about two years of illness from several cancers. There was no service; her ashes and John's were to be buried in the family plot at Sunset Memorial Gardens. A close friend through her working years was Sally, daughter of Bill Tamblyn and later mayor of Blind River, whose daily emails kept her company in her last months.[1]
Other records
An obituary-index entry dated 13 March 2021 lists this person.[2]
Newspaper record
- Biographical notice in The Chronicle-Journal, 1994-07-04.[3]
- Index note: LU long service award.
- Biographical notice in The Chronicle-Journal, 1982-04-21.[4]
- Index note: Secretaries day: not raises and roses.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Entry for Linda Carolyn Phillips, "In Memoriam", Retirees' Association of Lakehead University, https://www.lakeheadretirees.ca/in-memoriam/ (accessed 31 October 2026). Archived copy on datum.locker.
- ↑ The Chronicle-Journal, 13 March 2021, p. 2(D)
- ↑ The Chronicle-Journal, 4 July 1994, p. 1(B)
- ↑ The Chronicle-Journal, 21 April 1982, p. 19