Art Phillips

 By Bruce Shawkey

Art Phillips was a police officer in the city of Evansville. He passed away at the young age of 46. He was a kind, hulk of a man, like a large teddy bear. He often let off speeders with a warning, if the infraction was minor, say five miles over the limit. It was easy to do, since the approach to Evansville on Highway 14 from the north was downhill, so your vehicle could easily exceed the speed limit. "I don't like to give tickets to folks who live in town," he was reported to say to speeders.

Here are excerpts from his obituary:

Art was born in Madison, Wisconsin, on August 21, 1962, the son of Arthur Ernest Sr. and Ruby (Cato) Phillips. He was a graduate of Evansville High School and Blackhawk Technical School in Police Science. Art married Pat Astrach on September 24, 1983, in Berlin, Wisconsin, and they just celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. He was employed by Evansville as a law enforcement officer, starting part-time in 1982, and was hired full time in 1984. He was promoted to Sergeant on January 1, 1990, and Lieutenant in 1998.

He was the fire arms instructor for the Evansville Police Department and taught at Blackhawk Technical College Police Academy for many years. Art was very active in the Evansville community, where he belonged to the fire department for 10 years until retiring, and was a member of the Evansville Emergency Medical Service for over 20 years, where he was the coordinator for two years and still was a driver for them. He was a member of the Evansville community school district board and the Rock County Board of Supervisors. He served on several committees, including the Public Safety and Justice Committee, Rock County communications Center working group, Terrorism Core Committee, Traffic Safety Commission, and was a member of the Rock River Safety Patrol. He was a member of Union Lodge #32 F&AM Masonic Lodge Evansville. He was a collector of old coins, radios, clocks, old police memorabilia and antiques. Art liked doing things to make his community a better place and will be sadly missed. His biggest love in life was spending time with Pat, going places, shopping and collecting antiques. He died unexpectedly on September 30, 2008, at home.

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I met Art about a year after I moved to Evansville. Art loved to eat, and he told me a favorite restaurant in nearby Milton had created the giant "Art Cut" of prime rib especially for him. Art moved several times during the time I knew him. He wanted a big old house with a big front porch so he could sit and watch the traffic go by. I soon learned he had an interest in watches and we talked about his various purchases, often from places that charged way too much for watches that I would never buy myself. Art had a large wrist, so his tastes ran to large watches. I would guess Art ran about 300 pounds, or, if not, the high 200s.

Pat, on the other hand, was a petite thing and couldn't have weighed more than 120. It was funny to see them together. She was a nurse at one of the clinics in Evansville, and was a phlebotomist. Art jokingly called her "Dracula."

Art was not feeling well one day, and went home early from his shift. I heard he fell off the toilet and was dead before he fit the floor. He was well known and liked by many in Evansville, and I'm certain his funeral and visitation were attended by many.

Pat, I'm told, moved away, perhaps back to her home town of Berlin, Wis.

Evansville surely lost one of its most solid citizens.