John Philip "Phil" Garvin went to be with the Lord on Sunday, November 4,2018 at the age of 90. He is survived by his beloved wife of 60 years; their two children: Carol D'Argento (Nick) and John Garvin; three grandchildren: Katie Stearns (Tyler), Jenn Chione (John), Joe; 1 brother: Paul Garvin; numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Clinton Elmer and Elizabeth (Vermeer) Garvin and his sister, Mary (Garvin) Carlson. Visitation will be held at Independent Baptist Church , 380 W. Boughton Road, Bolingbrook, IL, on Thursday evening, November 8 from 4 to 7 p.m. with a funeral service to begin at 7:00 p.m. He will be laid to rest at a private interment on Friday morning, November 9 at 10:00 a.m. at Clarendon Hills Cemetery , 6900 Cass Avenue, Darien, IL.

Phil Garvin was born in Elyria, Ohio, in 1928, the son of a Baptist minister. He was the middle child having a sister, Mary, two years older, and a brother, Paul, three years younger. Phil was eight years old when he asked Jesus Christ to come into his heart to be his Savior and Lord after hearing an evangelist in Toledo, Ohio. A short while later, his father took a new pastorate and the family moved to Alaska, Michigan. Eventually they moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan where Phil began taking piano lessons when he was fifteen years old. Mrs. Leary, mother-in-law of the well-known Mel Johnson, was Phil's first teacher. His next teachers were notable Gospel musicians: Maxine Takens and Lois Hatt, former WMBI radio organist. Soon Phil was asked to sing and play on The Children's Bible Hour of Grand Rapids. Johnnie Hallett, pianist and composer for the radio program, was a very special inspiration for Phil.

In the summer of 1948, while serving as the conference pianist at the Gull Lake Bible and Missionary Conference in Michigan, Phil introduced himself to his future wife, Anne Gothard, who was playing on the second piano. She was four years his junior in high school, but they continued to keep in touch occasionally by letter.

In 1950, Phil was drafted into the army during the Korean War and stationed in Germany as a chaplain's assistant. During his time in the service, he played the piano for a traveling servicemen's choir. He also was introduced to missionary work among the military which led him to later become a missionary in the Netherlands for five years.

While on the mission field, he received a Christmas card from Anne and they renewed their friendship which was followed by a visit by Anne to the Netherlands, a proposal, and an acceptance. They were married on June 14, 1958. They made their home in La Grange, Illinois. Throughout their sixty years of marriage, they played piano and organ together at the La Grange Bible Church, Westchester Bible Church, and Independent Baptist Church.

Phil worked briefly as a United States postal worker followed by serving with the Christian Business Men's Committee (CBMC) as assistant director of Victory Center for Servicemen in the heart of Chicago. While Phil loved playing the piano, his even greater passion was "fishing" which he enjoyed doing with the young sailors stationed at Great Lakes Naval Base. After encouraging them to enjoy a free home-cooked meal and wowing them with his expert ping-pong skills, he would share the gospel with them and lead many of them to faith in Christ. He first experienced presenting the Gospel of Jesus Christ as a teenager in Grand Rapids where he joined the prayer meetings at the Mel Trotter mission before the group would then go out street preaching. Phil's heart delighted in seeing folks come into God's kingdom through faith and by hearing the Gospel, and that passion remained with him throughout his life.

In 1969, his brother-in-law invited him to work for him at the ministry he had started called Campus Teams which would later become Institute in Basic Life Principles. He faithfully served in various capacities over the next forty-five years, but his favorite and most recent responsibility was that of phone counseling. He was charged with the task of reaching out to families within the organization to provide encouragement and offer to pray with them for specific needs.

Phil was also a member of Gideons International and used the opportunity to hand out New Testaments along with sharing the Gospel. Proverbs 11:30 states "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise." Phil Garvin was a godly man and a very wise man. He has left a legacy to his family and an example to all who knew him. We look forward to the day we will be reunited in Heaven and enjoy his playing once again -- perhaps accompanying a very large choir of people led to faith because Phil Garvin took the time to share the Good News with them.