He was born in Chicago and came to Princeton after graduating from Downers Grove Township High School. He was an Eagle Scout and a star of the high school track team. At Princeton he was a member of Campus Club, majored in politics, and wrote his thesis on “The Operation of Port Newark as a Marginal Profit Enterprise under the Port of New York Authority.” He then served two years in the Army, leaving as a captain, and earned an MBA at Stanford University.
Phil joined the marketing research division of Standard Oil Co. of California and began a corporate career that took him from San Francisco to New York, Cleveland, Chicago, and finally Lubbock, Texas, where he changed course at age 55 to earn a doctorate in business administration from Texas Tech University. He spent the next 16 years as a professor at Wichita State University’s School of Business.
At age 60 he acquired a private pilot’s license and explored the small uncontrolled landing strips around Kansas. He found time to travel to Slovakia, where he conducted seminars in new product development under a USIA grant.
Throughout his life, Phil served his community and his church, notably the First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest, Ill., Eastminster Presbyterian Church of Wichita; and Church of the Palms in Sarasota.
Phil was predeceased by his wife of 66 years, Maribel “Penny” Slayton. He is survived by their son and daughter and four grandchildren.