Final Salute

Philip T. Foss, Jr., of Northern Virginia, passed away on June 4, 2024 after a courageous battle with skin cancer. He was 78. Phil is survived by his wife of 52 years, Carol (Milam), and their two children, Stephanie Anne Lamm (Jason) of Ruckersville, VA and Philip James Foss of Fairfax, VA. Phil adored his grandchildren, Sarah Lamm and Nolan Lamm. Philip is also survived by his brother Charlie Foss (Pam) of Orleans, MA, and nephews Andrew Foss (Jamie) in California and Peter Foss in Florida.

Phil was born at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C. where his father was serving as an Army intelligence officer at the end of WWII, but the family soon relocated back to its home base in Seattle, Washington. In Seattle Phil attended Briarcliff Elementary (where he met Carol), Catherine Blaine JHS, and Queen Anne HS but, after another family move, graduated from Seaholm HS in Birmingham, Michigan. His first car was purchased in nearby Windsor, Ontario a 1931 Model A Ford. Duke University School of Engineering was next. He made life-long friendships there with his Kappa Sigma brothers. His Duke experience was interrupted by the Vietnam War and enlistment in the U.S. Navy’s Construction Battalion. As a Navy Seabee Phil was stationed near the Da Nang Airbase, dodging incoming mortars while drafting plans for roads and runways. The next duty station was the Sigonella Naval Air Station in Sicily. Upon release from the Navy, Phil purchased a Fiat and toured southern Europe eventually Running with the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain.

Phil was a creative and adventurous gearhead. As a Seattle teenager, old bikes and older lawnmowers were converted into motor scooters. Brakes were optional. As an adult on an extended assignment in wintry Minnesota, he constructed a functioning electric car in the living room of his apartment. An iteration of that vehicle would later hang from the ceiling of his two- car garage, which also held the Model A, the Fiat, a growing collection of gauges and meters, and 7 motorcycles.

Professionally, Phil worked in commercial photography for several firms, including Eastman Kodak Co. In retirement he developed an interest in antique large-format cameras and 19th century projection devices. In 2022, undeterred by his illness but assisted by his son, he demonstrated a Victorian Magic Lantern projector to 12 successive audiences at the Duke Homestead Historic Site in Durham, NC.

Phil was an honest man, and a patriot. Burial will be private. In Phil’s memory, please consider a donation to The National Seabee Foundation, PO Box 657, Gulfport, Mississippi 39502 (www.seabee.org).