Don Phillips 1931-2025

Don Phillips, who died on August 1, a month short of his 94th birthday, would have been tickled to see people smiling and tapping their feet as his coffin was wheeled out of St Brendan’s church early last week.

As his son Paul had just reminded the congregation, Don lived a life rich in love, laughter and adventure. Having Always Look on the Bright Side of Life from The Life of Brian as his recessional music was a fitting finale for a man who lit up the lives of countless others.

“He was a little bit wild,” granddaughter Ellie said. “Full of stories, full of humour, full of heart… Don didn’t just observe history — he built his own.”

Born in 1931 into a family of six children, Don grew up at the Pine Lodge pub and rode the family horse to the Shepparton East Primary School — three up, with no saddle.

He was sent off to board at St Patrick’s College in Ballarat, while his father, Tom, had taken over the Australia Hotel and his older brothers did military service. Don would eventually become the publican, but not before a trip with Bryan Lunn (of Lunn & Fordyce fame) to London, where he worked at the Savoy Hotel — at one time serving Eleanor Roosevelt and her family.

After a working detour to Canada before returning to Shepparton, Don met quarry operator Max North, with whom he learned to fly. It led to many trips around Australia in their shared plane (including an unexpected forced landing near Pine Lodge after an engine cylinder failed over Mt Major, on the way home from the Gulf.)

Don married Marion Plant in 1956 (“I met Ma at Christmas and married her at Easter,” he told granddaughter Ellie) and raised two sons, Trevor and Paul — with whom the adventures continued. In 1972, Don took several months off with his young family: he bought a Volkswagen Beetle in Germany, then drove them all back home — via London and Singapore! A remarkable feat then, and impossible now.

In 1979, Don established Phillips Cellars after taking over the GV Winery in Vaughan St, where he specialised in supporting regional wineries and also fashioned his own — winning a Shiraz gold medal and best in class at the Victorian Wine Show.

A keen member and two-time president of the Shepparton Beefsteak & Burgundy Club, Don arranged many events to assist people in their knowledge of wine but “was always dreaming up ways to inject fun, laughter and a bit of mischief into everyday life”.

Described by Paul as the family’s resident prankster, “he even served on the executive of the Australian Nudist Club — just one more example of his colourful and fearless approach to life”.

He was a founding member of the Shepparton Lions Club in 1961, helping to deliver countless community projects over the ensuing 64 years. Coming from a large and lively family, “his circle of friends was just as wide and diverse as his interests”.

His older customers at the GV Winery remember the lolly jar he kept for the sons and daughters of browsing parents. “I just love the way children think,” Don used to say.

It was something his granddaughters felt in spades.

“He was never just a part of our lives … he was there at every major moment,” Ellie said.

“He held us when we were born, he had Anna and me over for many, many sleepovers. He was there for school startings, grandparent days, birthday parties. He was there when we got our driver’s licences, when we bought our first home — and for me, when I started my own family.

“There was a deep, steady presence in everything he did. He didn’t need to say much — he wasn’t one to give out compliments easily — but we knew he was proud of us.”

Marion sadly died in 2012, after 50 years of happy marriage. “After that,” Paul said, “Dad was fortunate to find love and companionship again with the lovely Selina and extended Quilty family. The joy they found in each other’s company was unmistakable — genuine, warm and deeply comforting. Their bond brought a renewed spark to Dad’s life.”

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

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