my great-uncle died on the 4th. i got the call as we were grilling at john’s. this one came from my father.

i hadn’t seen phil in years and years, something that made none of us very happy. (us being my immediate family.) after my grandfather died, when i was 5, phil was around a bit and i was always amazed, even at that age, at how much alike he and my grandfather seemed to be.

i wish i had more details or a picture. but i don’t. the obit in the richmond times dispatch merely reads:
“VICTORIA — Millican, Mr. Phillip Gordon, 85, a retired conductor for the Virginian and Norfolk & Western railroads, husband of Ruth H. Millican.”

i’m sure someone who knew phil as an adult could speak more about him. my memories are much more childlike. but i can tell you that phil ruled when it came to playig with us. i have nothing but fondness for him in my heart.

and, as an aside, i’m not sure until i saw the obit that i realized he was a conductor. conductors, engineers, collectors — after soph died a few months ago, i realized how much i enjoy riding trains. and i had several conversations with people about how i prefer trains to buses. i guess i didn’t know that trains run in my blood even more than i thought.

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