The Passing of Clarence E. Phillips
Posted: Tue May 03, 2016 5:23 am
I thought I would put a posting on the passing of retired FBI latent examiner/supervisor/instructor Clarence E. Phillips, who passed away Saturday April 23, 2016 at INOVA Fairfax Hospital in Fairfax, VA. He was 78 years old. His memorial service was this last Saturday April 30 in Triangle, VA. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, two children, three grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren, and one sister.
Many people within the “fingerprint community” may have known or known of Clarence Phillips. Perhaps hundreds of examiners who took the three week Administrative Advanced Latent Course at Quantico may have endured Clarence’s severe cross examinations in the moot court sessions. However, by the time I attended, he had since retired. He was past president of the Chesapeake Bay Division of the IAI as well as the parent body, the IAI in the 1986-1987 term.
I became better acquainted with Clarence upon being hired in Northern Virginia. After retiring from the Bureau, Clarence trained users of what was then known as Printrak International AFIS systems. He came to our unit and spent time teaching some of the nuances of AFIS coding and entry. Whenever I attended any of the AFIS user’s conferences, I would often sign up for at least one workshop session with Clarence. I may have heard the material previously, but, my learning curve was such that rote repetition always had a positive and lasting effect. He was always patient with me and never considered any question ridiculous.
While attending his memorial service this last Saturday, I observed numerous retired federal examiners, as well as numerous examiners from other agencies in the broader VA, MD, DC region. I also observed that most of us had far more years behind us than ahead of us. Funerals seem to remind me of that reality. The brevity of life amazes me more each day.
Clarence never lost his sense of humor and had it right up until a couple days prior to his passing. His minister mentioned that he and his wife went to the hospital to visit Clarence after he was airlifted to Fairfax from the medical center near his home. The pastor’s wife stated, “Clarence, you are looking good!” To which he replied, “It’s not good to lie in front of the pastor.”
During a time of open tributes and comments, many family members, friends from church, and neighbors paid tribute to Clarence. However, no examiners spoke or got up to tell “war stories.” I was intrigued by this at first. But, then I realized and reminded myself again that what we do in fingerprint work is simply a temporal occupation. What mattered most were family, friends, the church, and relationships, and ultimately, our accountability to our Creator, if that is part of your worldview. Clarence’s grandson, who is married with children now, spoke of his enjoyment of simple things in life. Clarence had taught him to chop firewood, how to fish, and do other tasks and hobbies. When he was younger, they would drive over to Quantico National Cemetery at dusk and watch the deer come out to feed as they would usually do at that time of day. Later, this grandson would bring his own young children to Clarence’s home and they would again drive over to Quantico and watch the deer come out to feed at dusk. A simple legacy of building lasting relationships is passed on to two generations.
The great writer and intellect from Cambridge, C. S. Lewis stated, “What draws people to be friends is that they see the same truth. They share it . . . we meet no ordinary people in our lives . . . If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” It became apparent to me Saturday that Clarence was made for that other world.
So, in an era in which our profession is seemingly driven by persons with high energy oversized egos, it might be wise to stop and reflect that what we do is only a flash in the pan compared to everything else in life. The old saying that no man lying dying with his family surrounding him will ever wish he had spent more time in the office, (or lab, IAI, NIST, AAFS, etc.) is not just a cliché, but true. What we will ultimately be remembered for will not likely be fingerprints, or anything we contributed to the fingerprint/forensic profession. Rather, our legacy with family and friends will have a much more lasting effect. And, always remember that when that hearse backs up to your door, it is not making a practice run.
Respectfully,
Bill
Many people within the “fingerprint community” may have known or known of Clarence Phillips. Perhaps hundreds of examiners who took the three week Administrative Advanced Latent Course at Quantico may have endured Clarence’s severe cross examinations in the moot court sessions. However, by the time I attended, he had since retired. He was past president of the Chesapeake Bay Division of the IAI as well as the parent body, the IAI in the 1986-1987 term.
I became better acquainted with Clarence upon being hired in Northern Virginia. After retiring from the Bureau, Clarence trained users of what was then known as Printrak International AFIS systems. He came to our unit and spent time teaching some of the nuances of AFIS coding and entry. Whenever I attended any of the AFIS user’s conferences, I would often sign up for at least one workshop session with Clarence. I may have heard the material previously, but, my learning curve was such that rote repetition always had a positive and lasting effect. He was always patient with me and never considered any question ridiculous.
While attending his memorial service this last Saturday, I observed numerous retired federal examiners, as well as numerous examiners from other agencies in the broader VA, MD, DC region. I also observed that most of us had far more years behind us than ahead of us. Funerals seem to remind me of that reality. The brevity of life amazes me more each day.
Clarence never lost his sense of humor and had it right up until a couple days prior to his passing. His minister mentioned that he and his wife went to the hospital to visit Clarence after he was airlifted to Fairfax from the medical center near his home. The pastor’s wife stated, “Clarence, you are looking good!” To which he replied, “It’s not good to lie in front of the pastor.”
During a time of open tributes and comments, many family members, friends from church, and neighbors paid tribute to Clarence. However, no examiners spoke or got up to tell “war stories.” I was intrigued by this at first. But, then I realized and reminded myself again that what we do in fingerprint work is simply a temporal occupation. What mattered most were family, friends, the church, and relationships, and ultimately, our accountability to our Creator, if that is part of your worldview. Clarence’s grandson, who is married with children now, spoke of his enjoyment of simple things in life. Clarence had taught him to chop firewood, how to fish, and do other tasks and hobbies. When he was younger, they would drive over to Quantico National Cemetery at dusk and watch the deer come out to feed as they would usually do at that time of day. Later, this grandson would bring his own young children to Clarence’s home and they would again drive over to Quantico and watch the deer come out to feed at dusk. A simple legacy of building lasting relationships is passed on to two generations.
The great writer and intellect from Cambridge, C. S. Lewis stated, “What draws people to be friends is that they see the same truth. They share it . . . we meet no ordinary people in our lives . . . If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” It became apparent to me Saturday that Clarence was made for that other world.
So, in an era in which our profession is seemingly driven by persons with high energy oversized egos, it might be wise to stop and reflect that what we do is only a flash in the pan compared to everything else in life. The old saying that no man lying dying with his family surrounding him will ever wish he had spent more time in the office, (or lab, IAI, NIST, AAFS, etc.) is not just a cliché, but true. What we will ultimately be remembered for will not likely be fingerprints, or anything we contributed to the fingerprint/forensic profession. Rather, our legacy with family and friends will have a much more lasting effect. And, always remember that when that hearse backs up to your door, it is not making a practice run.
Respectfully,
Bill