Philip Robert Colter, born 12/6/1963, peacefully passed away at home on Saturday, 9/17/16. He fought a long battle for over 2 years against glioblastoma (brain cancer). It was time for him to be at peace and to go Home to be with Jesus.

Philip was the loving husband to Diana (Pfeiffer) and father to Jacob Tyler and Brandon Philip, son of Jacob and Loreta (Phillips) Colter, brother to Mike and Mona Midden (Colter), Bob and Laura Becker (Colter), and Amy and David Colter; son-in-law to Esther Pfeiffer (Braudis) and the late William Pfeiffer; brother-in-law to David and Regina Pfeiffer, Debbie (Pfeiffer) and Steve Miller, Karen (Pfeiffer) and Frank Chandler, Paul and Nancy Pfeiffer, and Nancy (Pfeiffer) and Mike Brinson. He also leaves behind many extended family members, aunts/uncles, nieces/nephews, and many, many good friends!

Philip grew up in North St. Louis County, attended Ritenour High School and graduated in 1982. He then attended Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, and received a degree in Industrial Arts education. He worked for Parkway School District and then Francis Howell School District. He received his master’s degree in educational administration from UMSL in 1994 but decided he wanted to stay in the classroom, working with students, rather than go into administration. He retired in May of 2015. He had a positive influence on many students throughout his years as an educator; he was a dynamic, dedicated teacher, always excited to share his knowledge with those kids anxious to absorb it.

He was diagnosed in July of 2014 with glioblastoma and began his journey of chemotherapy, radiation, surgeries, doctor’s visits, and hospital stays. He fought a good fight and we prayed often that he would receive a miracle and be healed. God had a different plan. He is at peace in heaven and we are thankful for that! Two of Philip and Diana’s greatest blessing are their children—Jacob was born in 1991 and Brandon was born in 1995. They are both wonderful young men and have a lot of their dad’s caring, loving personality traits. Jacob graduated from Missouri S&T in Rolla in May of 2015 and works for Brinkmann Constructors as an engineer; Brandon attends Missouri State University in Springfield, MO, and is working towards his doctorate in Physical Therapy. He will graduate with his bachelor’s degree in December of 2017 and then begin the 3-year program for PT.

Philip and Diana and their family enjoyed staying busy. Both boys enjoy playing sports so they were busy running to practices or sitting on the bleachers at the ballpark or in the gym for hours on end, watching them play. Their boys have always been their top priority—their pride and joy! Phil had many hobbies including working on cars, building long bows, making other gadgets (potato guns, a small cannon), and most of all, enjoying time with his wife and children. The Colters were always doing fun things together–boating on the Meramec River, trout fishing at Maramec Springs, boating/camping at Bull Shoals Lake or Norfork Lake, hiking, riding motorcycles, swimming…the list goes on and on. Lots of wonderful memories of a fun, love-filled life. We attend Eureka United Methodist Church together and throughout Phil’s illness have all become more dependent on our faith to give us strength to deal with this difficult time. We will definitely miss him deeply but we are so thankful he’s at rest in such a beautiful place.

We donated Phil’s brain and brain stem to the Legacy Program at Washington University. They are researching glioblastoma and can hopefully learn something to help cure this terrible disease. Our hope is that that something positive will come out of Phil’s illness. He will be cremated and his remains will be scattered at some special places we have been together. We are planning a memorial service at Eureka United Methodist Church on Saturday, October 1, 2016, at 1 p.m. This will be a simple service of remembrance with a gathering in the Commons for sharing before/after the service. We are also planning a celebration of life party/bonfire on Saturday, November 5^th, at our house in Pacific. Please plan to come, listen to blues music, have a cold one, and remember wonderful memories that we all shared with Phil. He was such a blessing to so many of us!

In lieu of flowers or other gifts, please consider contributing to one of these funds: check payable to “Brandon P. Colter Education Fund” (mail to Bank of Washington, 200 W. Main Street, PO Box 277, Washington, MO 63090) or check payable to “Washington University—Legacy Program” (Washington University, Attention: Dr. Joshua Rubin, Campus Box 8208, 660 South Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110) Thank you all for being a blessing in our lives throughout the years.