Phillip Lee Milan

Phil Lee Milan, 88, of St. Martin’s Pointe, Hessel, Michigan, passed away early Tuesday, February 5, 2019 surrounded by his family. He was born January 10, 1931 in Grand Rapids, Michigan to Thomas Milan and Helen Howe Milan. Phil graduated from Assumption High School in Windsor, Ontario, and then attended The University of Detroit, where he played football and earned a business degree. He married Lenore “Lee” Burkel, his high school sweetheart, in 1951, and they spent the next 62 years raising a large family together. Phil and Lee were always drawn north to waters of Les Cheneaux, where his family had a compound of cabins outside of Hessel. He would bring his family up north throughout their summers to enjoy swimming, boating, water skiing, lakeside bonfires, jersey muds at Bon Aire, and excursions to Mackinac Island. When not with the family, Phil was building his water-well supply business, which grew to several locations throughout the state. Eventually, Phil and Lee moved from Mt. Pleasant to St. Martin’s Point where he opened his last supply store in Cedarville before retirement. Phil was always deeply involved in the communities in which he lived: He was in the U.S. Naval Reserves; He was President of the Parish Board of Sacred Heart in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. He was a member of many fraternal organizations, including the Lions and Knights of Columbus; He was on the Marquette Township Zoning board of appeals; He served as president of the Education Board for the Les Cheneaux school system, as well as a member of the Les Cheneaux Education Foundation. But no matter whether he was doing, Phil’s witty and mischievous sense of humor endeared him to colleagues and friends. Phil and Lee were separated by her death after 62 years of a loving marriage. After several years, Phil eventually met a wonderful friend and companion Sylvia Kievit – who had also been married for 51 years before she also lost her beloved husband – and they were happily married in 2016. Together, they joyfully attended the many family milestone events that occurred during their time together. Phil will be celebrated by his wife Sylvia and their children: Barb and her husband Gary of Cleveland, Ohio; Daniel and his wife Sharon of Mt. Pleasant, Michigan; Kevin and his fiancée Dehn Aniana of Chandler, Arizona and Calbayog City, Philippines; Michael and his wife Siriporn of Seattle, Washington and Bangkok, Thailand; Dr. Chris and his wife Joyce of Gaylord, Michigan; Christian Kievit of Naples, Florida; Keith and his wife Candice of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Mark and his partner David Savini of Andover, Massachusetts; Phil and his wife Jane of Charlevoix, Michigan; Melanie Kievit of Traverse City, Michigan. He will also be celebrated by their grandchildren, Alicia, Joe, Alex, Jenni, Nathan, Micah, Matt, Laura, Kataleya, Ellyn, Jayna, Ian, Levi, Sheamus, Birdi, Bac, Zachary, Winifred, Elijah, and Isadora; as well as by great-grandchildren Alyssa, Aziza, Evalyn, Aiden, Zoeli, Adrian, Leopold, Brianna, Lillian, Freyja, Saoirse, Daon, Sievert, Eleanor and Cassidy. Visitation will be held on Friday, February 8th from 4pm until 6:30pm at Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church, Hessel, Michigan. A Funeral Mass will be held at 10am on Saturday, February 9 at Our Lady of the Snows Church in Hessel, Michigan. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Phil’s name to the Les Cheneaux Community Foundation at http://lescheneauxcommunityfoundation.org/donate.html or to the Les Cheneaux Watershed Council at http://lescheneauxwatershed.org/about/how-to-help-donate. R. Galer Funeral Home in Pickford, Michigan is serving the family. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.rgalerfuneralhome.com.

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Phillip Lee Milan

January 10, 1931 - February 5, 2019