Harold J. Phillips

We are saddened to announce the passing of Harold James Phillips on 14 January 2025.

Harold was born in Liverpool, England on 29 June 1934 to Harold and Lilian Phillips, the eldest of their four children. After passing the infamous eleven-plus exam, he attended Bootle Grammar School for Boys, where he excelled in his studies. Awarded a state scholarship in 1952, he went on to study medicine at the University of Liverpool, graduating in 1958. 

Though a diligent scholar, Harold was also an avid sportsman, taking time to ski, golf, and play squash. In his student days, he had an eclectic range of summer jobs that included stints as a bus conductor and an attendant at Butlin’s holiday camp. The idea of living in Canada one day may have been planted in the late 1950s when he served as medical assistant on the Canadian Pacific’s Empress ships, on which he made four trans-Atlantic voyages to Quebec City and Montreal. 

During his final year of medical studies, he met and courted Helen Duke, a nurse at Liverpool’s Northern Hospital. They married in 1961 and had three sons. Following training as a radiologist, Harold was Lecturer in the Department of Anatomy while doing research for his MD thesis, completed in 1967. That same year, he was appointed Consultant Radiologist at Walton Hospital in Liverpool. He later passed his Fellowship exam in Radiology.

In 1970, Harold moved the family to Canada, where he joined a group of radiologists in Edmonton based at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. Over the years, contract work took him to hospitals in various parts of Alberta and more distant places, notably Whitehorse, Yellowknife, and Inuvik. Harold was in charge of the Radiology Resident Training Programme (1972-76) and was appointed Clinical Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Alberta, in 1975. As Chief of the Department of Radiological Sciences (1976-79), he and Dr. Ian Oates, an old Liverpool friend and colleague in Edmonton, initiated Ultrasound services at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. As Chairman of Associated Radiologists (1988-94), Harold oversaw its merger with several other hospital-based radiology partnerships to become Medical Imaging Consultants in 1996.

Harold was a loving husband and father, taking the family on summer holidays to the Rockies, the West Coast and Vancouver Island, and parts of the United States. There were also family holidays to Britain to visit relatives and friends. Though highly accomplished, Harold was warm, affable, and had a marvellous sense of humour.

Harold and Helen retired to Victoria, BC in 1999. There Harold enjoyed gardening, playing golf, and solving even the most challenging Sudoku puzzles. He also delighted in spending time with his grandchildren. After living happily in Oak Bay for more than 20 years, Harold and Helen moved to Vancouver to be closer to their sons.

Predeceased by Helen in March 2024, Harold is survived by his sisters Sylvia and Pauline, brother Roy, brother-in-law Alan, and sons Stephen (Junko), Andrew, and Richard (Maryanna). He also leaves his three granddaughters, six nephews, and five nieces.

The family wish to thank the staff of Point Grey Private Hospital for their exceptional care.

A private funeral will take place on 25 January in Vancouver with a commemoration of life to follow in early spring. In lieu of flowers, we invite you to make a donation in Harold’s memory to the Alzheimer’s Society of British Columbia, Canadian Feed the Children, or the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation.