I was blessed to get to know Howie Phillips through Wayne Rudy*, who I met in my Architechtural Drawing class with Mr. Raul Paul Guerrero that first year at Southridge.
[*Wayne was briefly a Spartan but left Southridge before he graduated. He earned his GED, joined the Marines, got married, and then soon died in a horrific car crash in California sometime around 1980]
After graduation, Howie attended Miami-Dade Community College taking general courses. After acceptance into the M-D Firefighter Program, he passed that rigorous course in 1981. He was working out his rookie status when he was killed in a single car accident in the middle of the night out in the Redlands in August of 1982, just a week shy of his 22nd birthday.
Howie never met a stranger since he was instantly friends with everyone he met. Quiet on the outside, he had a heart of a gold, and a sweetly rebellious, but gentle spirit.
Howie enjoyed the outdoors and going to the beach or a park in Miami was a favorite pasttime. He loved to spend the afternoon at a swimmin' hole, like the Trestle or the Barge. Howie loved rock and roll. Among his favorite bands were Lynyrd Skynyrd, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band, Boston, KISS and Rush. Howie spent a lot of his free time attending rock concerts with his friends. He also spent odd evenings hanging out in front of his mother's house on Marlin where anyone and everyone was always welcome to stop and come join the fun, like playing frisbee and listening to music.
Howie had a strong work ethic and worked odd jobs before joining the fire department. One of his jobs after high school was "Official Florida Citrus Inspector". Howie loved to tell folks (and laugh) that he and his crew would go out into neighborhoods and go into peoples' yards, kneel down next to a citrus tree or bush, look up, ask each other if they see anything (the answer was always, "nope")...rinse and repeat all day, day after day, and he got paid to do that by the State Of Florida!
Perhaps best known for his ability to fix engines, Howie owned a hodgepodge stream of fast, sporty cars.
In the last year of his life, in order to better perform his job as firefighter, Howie began body building, and was quite muscular at the time of his death.
Howie was a loving son and brother. He was very devoted to his young, widowed mother and his many brothers and sisters. He was also wholly committed to his Roman Catholic religion and found solace in keeping weekly meetings and regular prayer.
Howie's father Victor predeceased him; his sister Betty Ann and brother Gerry also predeceased him.
Harold Daniel Phillips was survived by his mother, Betty (now deceased) and by his sisters Vicki, Mary, and Theresa; and brothers Chris, Al, and David.
--written by Betty Green Hansen [Betty Lee Green] 6/16/2018
Beautiful tribute, thank you so much for sharing. I remember both Wayne “Rudy” (always called him Rudy) and Howie very well. Both young men were very kind, and full of life.
Betty [Lee] Green (Hansen) (1978)
I was blessed to get to know Howie Phillips through Wayne Rudy*, who I met in my Architechtural Drawing class with Mr. Raul Paul Guerrero that first year at Southridge.
[*Wayne was briefly a Spartan but left Southridge before he graduated. He earned his GED, joined the Marines, got married, and then soon died in a horrific car crash in California sometime around 1980]
After graduation, Howie attended Miami-Dade Community College taking general courses. After acceptance into the M-D Firefighter Program, he passed that rigorous course in 1981. He was working out his rookie status when he was killed in a single car accident in the middle of the night out in the Redlands in August of 1982, just a week shy of his 22nd birthday.
Howie never met a stranger since he was instantly friends with everyone he met. Quiet on the outside, he had a heart of a gold, and a sweetly rebellious, but gentle spirit.
Howie enjoyed the outdoors and going to the beach or a park in Miami was a favorite pasttime. He loved to spend the afternoon at a swimmin' hole, like the Trestle or the Barge. Howie loved rock and roll. Among his favorite bands were Lynyrd Skynyrd, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band, Boston, KISS and Rush. Howie spent a lot of his free time attending rock concerts with his friends. He also spent odd evenings hanging out in front of his mother's house on Marlin where anyone and everyone was always welcome to stop and come join the fun, like playing frisbee and listening to music.
Howie had a strong work ethic and worked odd jobs before joining the fire department. One of his jobs after high school was "Official Florida Citrus Inspector". Howie loved to tell folks (and laugh) that he and his crew would go out into neighborhoods and go into peoples' yards, kneel down next to a citrus tree or bush, look up, ask each other if they see anything (the answer was always, "nope")...rinse and repeat all day, day after day, and he got paid to do that by the State Of Florida!
Perhaps best known for his ability to fix engines, Howie owned a hodgepodge stream of fast, sporty cars.
In the last year of his life, in order to better perform his job as firefighter, Howie began body building, and was quite muscular at the time of his death.
Howie was a loving son and brother. He was very devoted to his young, widowed mother and his many brothers and sisters. He was also wholly committed to his Roman Catholic religion and found solace in keeping weekly meetings and regular prayer.
Howie's father Victor predeceased him; his sister Betty Ann and brother Gerry also predeceased him.
Robin Fisher (Stein) (1978)
Beautiful tribute, thank you so much for sharing. I remember both Wayne “Rudy” (always called him Rudy) and Howie very well. Both young men were very kind, and full of life.