In Memory of Dr. David Stewart Philip 1933 - 2016 - Invocation given by Rev. Dr. Eugen Bannerman 28 March 2016

DR.  DAVID  STEWART  PHILIP 

Invocation

“A time to be born and a time to die.”

Dying is the last of the human experiences we can have,

the final stage in the lifespan of consciousness.

With death, the autobiography of life is forever closed,

and only the biographical epilogue remains to be written.

The epilogue is the only part the deceased cannot write for themselves;

it is left up to us to compose the final tributes.

This afternoon, we have come to say farewell to a remarkable human being: 

Dr. David Stewart Philip: 

a husband, father, grandfather, 

dentist, colleague, educator, board member, 

golfer, cricketer, rugby player, 

Rotarian, neighbour, and friend to many hundreds of patients.

We have come together in sadness, 

because those who have known him will miss him. 

But we’ve also come with anticipation of celebrating his life among us.

And so, though it is his death that brings us together,

it is his life we wish to remember and honour,

a life full of beauty, smiles, and generous goodwill.

Personal Reflections

I first met David while seated in the dentist's chair in his Oak Bay Dental Clinic.

I could hear someone humming an operatic tune in the hallway,

and then he was beside me.

"Good morning, Laddie, And what can I do for you?" 

He spoke in his Scottish brogue. 

I asked if he was humming a Verdi tune.

"Can’t remember,” he said, “But could have been."

I knew then that I would enjoy his company, regardless of my dental needs.

Over months and years, our whole family got to sit in that chair 

and hear his latest operatic hummings.

His care of patients was legendary, and extended far beyond office time.

For example, he opened his office one Sunday to deal with our son's broken tooth.

And friends have thanked me for referring them to him.

Latterly, we became neighbours in Rockland. 

After I joined the Oak Bay Rotary Club, we drove to Rotary meetings together. 

David would often help me, as we picked up Ted Harrison 

to bring him to Rotary luncheons. 

Inevitably, the three of us ended up singing, rather merrily, the few Deutsche Lieder we remembered from our school days.

My daughter Fiona met David last summer, as we drove to Rotary together.

When I spoke to her yesterday in Switzerland, I told her that David had died,

and she recalled their meeting with amazing clarity.

“He’s an old world gentleman,” she said, “elegant and smartly dressed.

We don’t see this kind anymore.

He was turned out with his waist coat, and tie pin.

He looked just divine, 

and he was funny, O my God, in that Scottish way.

Out come these Scottish sayings.

I’m glad I had a red wine with him.”

A few moments later she added, 

“I’m sure he was a charmer with the ladies in his youth.

He was a charmer in his eighties.

A lovely man.” 

We all know that David has lived through a series of critical medical issues.

His son, David Jr., once said that when he graduated from Glenlyon Norfolk School, 

his dad had his first major heart attack.

"I didn't know whether I would have to go to his funeral in my graduation suit."

It was a medical crisis with which the family had to deal with for decades.

"The good Lord's just not ready for this Scotsman," David often joked.

This week I learned from Chris, David’s wife of 59 years, 

that David had a near-death experience after his first heart attack in 1977.

David was already in Emergency when they called Chris to come to the hospital.

He looked hopeless; he was in a coma; what could she do?

Chris called out to him, “David, you can’t go. 

You can’t leave me at home with the three boys to look after. 

You’ve got to come back.”

David told her later that he heard her calling to him, demanding his return. 

It was the voice of his wife which was the determining factor 

that made him return to consciousness, 

and live for almost another four decades.

A nurse looked at the monitor.

“He’s turned the corner,” she reported, “his pulse rate has gone up.”

He was dying only a few minutes ago, and miraculously came back.

And after an hour, the nurse told Chris he was out of danger now,

and encouraged her to go home.

“It's so easy to go,” David confided later, “I wasn’t frightened of dying.”

Skip ahead almost forty years to the present day.

Last Sunday evening, as Chris and David were preparing for bed, 

David appeared worried about not feeling well.

"Oh David," Chris gently reassured him, "it's okay. 

Just let go and let God."

And sometime during the early morning hours, David did just that.

His heart stopped pulsing, and he passed peacefully through nature,

and into the Beyond, 

and into God’s eternity.

These are but a few of my personal memories and reflections 

of the remarkable man whose span of life we are honouring today.

Amen.

Rev. Dr. Eugen Bannerman

United Church Minister

Oak Bay Rotary Club

March 28, 2016