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Philip Thibodeau, Lt. USNR (Ret), 77

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Philip Thibodeau Lt. USNR (Ret)
8-14-1934 – 4-8-2012

Philip Thibodeau passed away at home early on Easter Monday. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Sandra, daughters Cynthia and Michelle, grandson Paul, and nieces and nephews. A memorial service with military honors was held at the Jacksonville National Cemetery on Monday, April 16, 2012.

Phil was born near Boston, and grew up in Hopkinton, Mass. He lived on a small family farm, so chores and weeding were a necessary but unloved part of his life. When chores were done, he enjoyed roaming the woods. His parents were both Scout leaders, and Phil and his sisters enjoyed Scouting and camping for many years. As a teen-aged “new driver”, he rebuilt a 1940 Ford convertible, and always admired them.

Phil was a member of the last class of Naval Cadets (pilot training) that included enlisted men (which he was at the time). When he graduated from the program, he received the rank of Ensign. Phil and his family witnessed the last flight of the last Navy blimp at Lakehurst Naval Air Station. While at Lakehurst, he was a member of the rifle and pistol team, and competed in a match at Annapolis, Maryland. His deployments included Malta and the Mediterranean, Turkey, Beirut and the Caribbean.

After leaving active service, Phil served out the remainder of his twenty-three years in the Naval Reserve, investing one weekend each month and two weeks each year toward his retirement.

In civilian life, Phil was sales manager at Graham Boat Yard in Jacksonville, and worked for Morgan Yachts in St. Petersburg, Florida. When he retired, he was the manager of the Mandarin Senior Center in Jacksonville. For several years before that, he was sent to different senior center that needed extra work and TLC.

Phil was a member of the Rudder Club, The Jacksonville Maritime History Association, the Florida Aviation Historical Society, and the Gateway RC Club. He wrote and edited a newsletter and re-wrote the by-laws for Gateway.

He was a founding member of the Jacksonville Waterways Advisory Association, the North Florida Cruising Club, the Navy Jax Sailing Club, the North Florida Flyers, and Fleet 35 Catalina 22 Racing & Cruising Club.

Phil was a strong advocate for the St. Johns River, and was adamant that the river belongs to the people of Florida, and not just to the owners of houses and businesses on its shores. He kept a hospital from building out over the river; he prevented a new bridge from being a water-level, non-opening bridge; and he kept a company from building housing on barges in the river at Green Cove Springs.

Another passion was model airplanes. He started out building and flying large models with gasoline engines, then changed to smaller models powered by electric motors or rubber bands. Phil enjoyed building a model from plans out of balsa wood and special paper – lower cost, and repairable. While we were riding in Bud II, one of the Budweiser blimps, the pilot tried to snag one of the “runaway” models from the top of a pine tree – while we all held our collective breath!

Phil did many demonstrations for elementary school children, using rubber band and electric models, to show kids that modeling didn’t have to be enormously expensive. He was a member of, and a race official for, the American Modeling Association. He also contributed one or two larger models as decoration for a local Ruby Tuesday’s restaurant.

He was a guest teacher for the Florida State College at Jacksonville summer aviation camp for children. He sailed in many sailboat races on the St. Johns River, and won the Mug Race one year. He was involved with the beginning of the King’s Day Regatta, and was an avid sailor as long as his health permitted.

High Flight
John Gillespie Magee, Jr.

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth,
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, – and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of – Wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air...
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark or even eagle flew –
And, while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

Arrangements by National Cremation and Burial Society, Jacksonville, FL (904) 346-3331.

http://www.mem.com/Story/5061926/54341122/54341125?title=Obituary