Philip L. Wolf

Philip Lyle Wolf, 63, of Princeton passed away unexpectedly on Friday, Dec. 21, 2018, at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria.

Phil was born Sept. 2, 1955, in Princeton to Lyle H. and Marian J. (Wilkinson) Wolf. He graduated from Princeton High School in 1973 and the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science.

Phil succeeded his father, Lyle, as owner-operator of Wolf Builders in Princeton for many years, where he attained an enviable dexterity for carpentry, and further applied it to his favorite pastimes of baking, cooking and gardening. He cherished his Princeton area community and served as a city council member.

Phil was a man of conviction, and had been a member of the Princeton Bible Church and the Evangelical Covenant Church congregation for many years. He celebrated life with fellowship and set his heart free with music, having enjoyed playing the trumpet and piano. He enjoyed the outdoors, the night sky and to see them best in the Rockies. Phil loved his family, and his radiant spirit and contagious smile will be sorely missed by them.

Phil was known as a giving person and even in death, his generosity lives on as his donation of vital organs has allowed the gift of life to continue for several others. As he would often say, “Life’s too short.”

He leaves his mother, Marian Wolf of Princeton; one daughter, Rachel (Alex) Pease of Albuquerque, N.M.; three sons, Luke (Ashleigh) Wolf of Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Paul (Ines) Wolf of Berlin, Germany, and Jonathan Wolf of Ames, Iowa; four grandchildren, Abbigail Wolf, Owen Wolf, Malcolm Pease and Elsa Wolf; and two sisters, Cynthia (Joseph) Baumgart and Amy (Michael) Hodge, both of DeKalb.

He was preceded in death by his father, Lyle Wolf.

The family invites friends to join them for a memorial service at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 2, at the Evangelical Covenant Church in Princeton with Pastor Bernie Windmiller officiating.

Online condolences may be left at his memorial page on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/philip.wolf.39 and we invite stories and memories to be shared to help us through this time in celebrating his life.