Phillip Robert Campbell

Phillip Robert Campbell - Phillip Robert Campbell passed away peacefully at home on June 1, 2011, he was 90 years old. Phillip was born September 16, 1920 in Saskatchewan, Canada to Bertha and Harold Campbell. Five years later, upon the death of his father, Bertha moved her family to San Diego for the winter and never went back. While growing up in the warm weather Phillip took an interest in playing the violin. He became quite accomplished and played in the San Diego Jr. Symphony and at the Hollywood Bowl. Bertha remarried and raised Phillip, his brother and sister in San Diego until 1934. At that time, Phillip's parents bought 320 acres of property, sight unseen, in Annapolis, a remote area of Sonoma County. They moved north in 1936. After completing high school in San Diego, Phillip joined his family in Annapolis and began working in a saw mill. In 1944 he enlisted in the US Air Force, training to be a pilot. On August 17, 1944, during leave, he married his sweetheart, June Thorpe, at the family home in Annapolis. He was sent to England shortly after. While stationed in England, he flew B17's, making 17 bombing missions over Germany. At the end of WWII, Phillip left the Air Force and returned to Annapolis. In 1946 he started Annapolis Milling Co., a saw mill. He was active in the mill until it closed in 2001. Private graveside services will be held. Family and friends are invited to a Celebration of Phillip's Life on Friday, June 10, 2011 at 1:00 pm. At the Union Hotel in Occidental, CA. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Shamli Hospice, P.O. Box 1100, Gualala, CA 95445 or to your favorite charities. Family assisted by PARENT-SORENSEN MORTUARY-SEBASTOPOL, 829-5433. Besides his family, Phillip's lifelong passion was always flying. He became a private pilot, buying his first plane, a Piper Apache, in 1962, building his own airstrip next to the saw mill. He later began flying Piper Aztecs, and continued to fly until he was 80 years old. He was a very skilled and accomplished pilot, flying in all kinds of weather. For several years, Phillip flew for The Sea Ranch, piloting their Cessna 310. He would bring prospective buyers from the bay area up the coastline giving them a bird's eye view of The Sea Ranch properties.