Arthur W. Phillips - Physician / Humanitarian

Arthur William Phillips, born in Emlenton on July 29, 1888, was the son of oil well operator Samuel W. Phillips and Clara Crawford Phillips of nearby Scrubgrass Township. After graduating from Emlenton High School in 1906, he worked for several years in Hugh Gilmore's Drug Store, where he was persuaded to enter medicine; later he in turn influenced Hugh Gilmore Jr. to do the same, and the two remained lifelong friends. After graduating from Grove City College, Phillips entered the University of Pennsylvania Medical School in Philadelphia and graduated in 1916. His internship at the University hospital was interrupted by World War I, during which he was commissioned a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, and after the war he returned to complete his internship. In 1920 he joined the faculty of the University Medical School and began a private practice in West Philadelphia that continued until his retirement in 1969 at age 81. Specializing in Internal Medicine, "Doc" Phillips kept a demanding schedule of day and evening office hours and house calls six days a week, including many all-night bedside vigils, and his publications and teaching lectures became known for practical insights drawn from private practice. His lifelong affection for Emlenton was reflected in the hospitality he and his wife May extended to traveling locals in their home. In 1969 they left their residence and his office because of University campus expansion and spent their remaining years in the old Phillips homestead in Emlenton, without central heating. Phillips also developed skill in stock market investing from lessons learned from his father and others during the local oil and gas era, and because the couple lived modestly, they accumulated a considerable fortune. After his death in 1974, the Dr. and Mrs. Arthur W. Phillips Charitable Trust began distributing funds to recipients near and far, especially to medical-related facilities. The Emlenton Area Medical Center, owned by Emlenton Borough, began in 1979 with a Phillips Trust bequest to acquire the properties, and in 1980 the center was built through a combination of private and Phillips Trust contributions.

Emlenton, Pennsylvania · United States