PARKSVILLE — By all accounts, there will never be another man quite like “Flying” Phil St. Luke.
The long-time Parksville resident and unofficial community ambassador passed away in the early morning hours of Friday, Jan. 13 after a battle with illness.
His passing came as a shock to friends and family, who said they’d hoped for more time with him after he was moved into palliative care earlier in the week.
Phil leaves behind a lasting legacy of community spirit, generosity and love for his fellow Parksville residents.
In the hours after his passing was announced by friends and family, his fan page on Facebook was flooded with comments about how Phil impacted people’s lives.
One friend NanaimoNewsNOW spoke with said she first met Phil when she moved from Victoria when she was 12.
She spotted him waving to passersby on a bridge and wondered what kind of town she was moving to.
A few days later, she ran into the Phil downtown and was quickly engaged in conversation with him and the rest was history. From then, she said Phil never forgot her name over the years they’ve known each other.
Not forgetting a name was one of his made trademarks as Phil quickly became everyone’s best friend and a regular site strolling throughout the downtown, checking in on people and area businesses.
“I would often run into him a different restaurants as he made his rounds over the years, and he always remembered my name from when I met him…a million years ago,” one commenter on the page said Friday. “Even after not seeing him for quite some time. A true ambassador to our community.”
Several commenters suggested a formal memorial for Phil should be built in Parksville, to honour his lasting legacy. Others called for flags at City Hall to be lowered to half mast. (Facebook)Another commenter said Phil was a force for good in the community.
“Rest in peace Phil! Ever since I was a child and spent summers in Parksville it wasn’t a summer until we waved and honked and said a hello to Phil! His friendly and personable spirit will always live on!!”
Parksville Mayor Doug O’Brien remembered Phil as a “local legend”, and as the “unofficial ambassador for the City of Parksville.
“He had a large stature, he was as large as life, he had a big wave and a booming voice. He represented the City of Parksville at every opportunity because Phil was a great walker, he never had a driver’s license but he had more miles on his boots than anyone else I know.”
O’Brien said Phil was a very kind and happy man with his signature smile always on his face.
“He would always be recognized by people driving by, walking by and so forth, and would always have a large wave or big thumbs up with his big grin and a big smile on his face for everybody passing through.”
He said the City would absolutely be open to helping create some sort of memorial for Phil, and Council will be talking about it this weekend in hopes they can have the start of a plan in time for their next council meeting.
“(We’re) open to all sorts of ideas at this particular point. He will be remembered in a proper fashion from the City of Parksville, I can guarantee you that. How that looks right now, we’re still kind of in shock, but we will work out details on that and probably have that approved in time for Monday’s (Jan. 16) City of Parksville Council meeting.”
Kim Burden, executive director of the Parksville Chamber of Commerce told NanaimoNewsNOW Phil was a constant presence at their annual Canada Day parade, leading the procession with his drum.
“The thing about Phil was he had a smile on his face, in terms of an ambassador for the community he greeted people, he popped into businesses to say hi. He was a presence in the community and he’ll be sadly missed.”
Burden added he represented the best of Parksville.
“He was a presence here, he walked the streets every day, he said hello to everybody every day, he always had a big wave when people went by on the highway. He was part of Parksville.”
“Flying” Phil St. Luke was 70 years old.
“Flying” Phil St. Luke (centre) was a constant presence in the Parksville community and parades, including this one in 2012. (submitted photo)Editor’s Note: NanaimoNewsNOW has reached out to some of Phil’s close friends and family for an interview, however we are respecting their privacy by not actively persuing their comments.
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