Phillip William Shields
October 22, 1934 - November 26, 2024
Obituary
Phillip “Phil” William Shields, 90, of Kirkland, WA, died peacefully on Tuesday, November 26, 2024. He was born on October 22, 1934, to parents Jackson Mitchell Shields and Esther Marie Shields in Kansas City, Missouri.
Phil graduated from the University of Missouri where he competed the ROTC program and joined the United States Air Force in 1958. He became a pilot and served in the Vietnam War flying C-124s and C-141 transport aircraft in and out of the war zone earning him the Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross. After the war Phil flew congressmen, senators and high-level Government officials to diplomatic events around the world. While flying out of Andrews Air Force Base in Washington DC, he met and married Sandy in August 1979. Phil finally retired from the Airforce as a lieutenant colonel after 22 years.
After his dedicated service to the USAF, Phil worked as a flight test pilot for Boeing for 18 years where he tested new aircraft and delivered commercial aircraft to Boeing customers in dozens of countries.
Unfortunately, after nearly 20 years of marriage, Sandy died of cancer in 1998. Tired of eating alone, Phil began spending time with Betty, the wife of a Boeing Flight Test colleague who had also died of cancer. Phil and Betty fell in love and spent the next 19 years together.
Besides flying, Phil had a passion for golf. Phil and Betty lived on golf courses in Arizona and Washington state so Phil could just walk out his front door to play a game. In addition to playing golf, each morning Phil would go on an “Easter egg hunt” around their house to find lost golf balls from other golfers in the shrubs and in rain gutters.
In addition to his wife Sandy, Phil was preceded in death by his parents and his two brothers, Mike and Don.
Phil is survived by Betty, his friends and family, his golf clubs and over 2,000 golf balls.
A visitation will be held on Thursday, December 12, 2024, from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM at Bonney Watson Funeral Home, 16445 International Blvd, SeaTac, WA 98188. The funeral service will immediately follow from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM. The graveside service with military honors will be conducted at Tahoma National Cemetery, 18600 SE 240th St, Kent, WA 98042 at 1:30 PM where Phil will be buried next to his wife Sandy.
