Michael Ryan Phillips
March 9, 1972 – January 6, 1998

Michael was born in Casper , Wyoming , and moved to Sheridan when he was two. He attended schools in Sheridan , graduating from SHS in 1990. While in high school, he participated in golf, basketball, and student government. After a year at the University of Oregon , he returned to his beloved Wyoming to attend the University and participate as a member of the UW Golf team for four years. He graduated in 1995 with a major in Business and a minor in Russian. Always wanting to experience the world and share his blessings, he chose to spend the next year as the director of Habitat for Humanity in Lafayette , Louisiana . That experience reinforced his interest in business and finance, and led him to the Masters program in Business at Penn State University . At the time of his car accident, he was in his last semester of the program and had accepted a position of financial analyst at Hewlett-Packard in Ft. Collins , Colorado .

But all of this did not contain Michael. He had an instinct and an enthusiasm for everything of value. He loved his family and his friends; competition and sports; Sheridan and his cabin in Story; the mountains; and music. His interest in music led him to composing and performing. He was a schemer, an organizer, a thinker and a philosopher. Arguing came naturally to Michael; he had to explore every side of an issue, and he had to be convinced. Never was Michael a passive participant in life.