Phillip Gene Barrett

Phillip Gene (Phil) Barrett was born in Anthony, Harper County, KS on Jul 26, 1928 to parents Herbert Conner Barrett and Lois Leilla Robinson. He spent his upbringing with his two older siblings, Edgar and Ruth Ann, who later both preceded him in death. Phil married Virginia Ruth Galloway in Wichita, KS (while still residing in Anthony) on Jul 31, 1949. Phil and Virginia moved to Phoenix, AZ in the late 1950s and by the mid-1970s they were riding motorcycles and touring scenic routes in the US during their spare time. They raised two sons together although they eventually divorced after close to 30 years of marriage. Phil worked in the banking industry his entire career, beginning as a teller handling transactions. His favorite story was helping a lady who demanded four $25 bills in change. He delicately explained to her those bills were unavailable and instead convinced her to accept five $20 bills. Phil worked for what became First Interstate Bank of AZ, which is now part of Wells Fargo. Phil was a wiz with his adding machine and invented a new filing system for his department which received much praise. Phil was so warm and friendly and literally addressed hundreds of fellow bank employees by first name that people frequently called him up to ask for his advice. Even without a college degree, he was ultimately promoted to Assistant Vice President in charge of all the corporate insurance for the bank throughout AZ and regularly interfaced with the corporate office in Los Angeles. Phil retired and moved back to Anthony in the mid-1980s to take care of his Mother and other family and to enjoy his time with his brother, his friends, and the community. In the 1990s, he moved to Deming, NM to be closer to his sons. He always looked forward to hosting the annual get-together with his sons to watch the Indy 500 on TV, serving them a breakfast of bacon, eggs, biscuits, and waffles. He also attended PC SUGAR, the local computer club, for around 20 years, making many friends. Well into his 80s, Phil owed his continued good health to doing morning stretching exercises to alleviate arthritis and being careful what he ate and the quantity. Unfortunately, 5 or 6 years ago he began to develop one cancer outbreak after another. Phil was amazingly resilient even then until his death on Feb 14, 2018 in Las Cruces, NM at age 89-1/2. He is survived by son Andrew Phillip Barrett (and wife Deborah) of Peoria, AZ, son Matthew William Barrett of Las Cruces, and sister-in-law Shirley Barrett of Attica, Kansas.