There is no easy way to do this, so I will just start.  Yesterday, February 2nd, at 12:22 pm Dad/Peter/Poppy, passed away due to complications from Covid-19.  My mom, Brad and I were able to be at his side as he was removed from life support.  His eyes looked at us as we spoke and we feel that he received what we had to say.

This was an incredibly difficult decision to make, but one we felt reflected the kind of life that we knew dad would want to live.  After a few weeks of steady decline we were able to have a conversation with Dad’s medical team on Wednesday of last week.  They said his oxygen needs were increasing and his lungs were getting so rigid that the ventilator was almost maxed out on the air pressure going into his lungs.  They told us his condition did not lead them to believe that he would ever be able to live off the ventilator and that he would require a continuous state of nearly full sedation.  In the near future it would likely be more painful for Dad to have the machine push air into his lungs and his organs would shortly start to break down.

Dad was a spry and healthy 73 year old.  He is unique in the way he treated people in his life.  If you just met him, you would feel like a real human and in that moment felt valued and heard.  If he liked you, you felt it.  If he really liked you, you might have had a nickname.  If he didn’t like you, you probably knew it. He never wanted much in return, but he wanted to learn something from you -- an opinion, a strategy, a perspective.

We all have a hole in our lives now that only time and memories can fill.  We plan to have a celebration of life in a few weeks.  We will update you with arrangements.  We thank you and appreciate your calls and texts of support even if we do not reply right away.  Please hold off on the flowers as mom is back and forth between our houses.  Instead, do something to celebrate Peter the way he would live: Cheers at 4:42; be kind to a stranger (perhaps even a little inappropriate); be there for a loved one; live in the moment; accelerate your car as fast it would go up a freeway on-ramp.

Love, 

The Phillips Family