David L. Moulton
Phil, Consider it serendipity that all of your brothers were close by when you were called home. For a brief moment, allow me to compare your sudden passing to that of the young pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels whose life was sadly taken a week or so ago in a tragic accident following a stunning appearance on the mound. He encouraged his dad to fly to Los Angeles from his home in Maryland based on a phone call to his dad that "something special was going to happen." It seems to me that your brothers were all nearby for the same reason the pitcher's dad was in the stands that day. There's no logical rationale for leaving us on Easter, but perhaps there really is. You didn't have to suffer long, and you were surrounded by loving family members. That pitcher didn't have to suffer long, either, and he played a great game just priot to being called home. I'm sure you played a great game also in the golf tournament. For a reason I'll never really understand, I surfed the Internet last week (which I do on occasion) for a familiar name, and for an inexplicable reason I selected the name Haigis. I found several ancestral web sites, one of which had been created by your wife. During my brief research, by happenstance I recalled that I was told when I was young that your dad participated in one of Admiral Donald MacMillan's exploratory trips to the Arctic. I then sent an e-mail to the director of the Peary-MacMillan Museum at Bowdoin in an attempt to confirm the story that I was told 50+ years ago. The director of the museum responded to my inquiry today and informed me that dad was on a trip to Labrador in 1937. At that time, he was listed as a student. Was my inquiry purely coincidental? No one really knows. Was the young pitcher's call to encourage his dad to attend his first appearance at an Angel's game this year merely coincidental? No one really knows. What I do know is that both you and the young pitcher were expressly loved, and will always be loved, by scores of family members, friends, and acquaintances. Even though I hadn't crossed paths with you since high school, whenever we did meet (usually at the Irving station prior to your move to Florida), you were always personable and forthcoming about your family. I hope you found me the same, with a special interest on what you and your family members had been up to since the last time we saw one another. Phil, you have the responsibility for paving the way for our introduction into Heaven whenever we are called home. Just like that young pitcher, you'll definitely be our "Angel" when it's our time to meet once again. Take care, and remember that you'll never be forgotten as a loving son, husband, dad, brother, and friend. We'll be all looking for you when we make the trip, if for nothing else than to give us the guided your. My thoughts and prayers are with you, your family members, and friends. Dave Moulton