Philip Anthony Lavorgna

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Philip Anthony Lavorgna

July 14, 1928 ~ April 1, 2021

On April 1, 2021 this world lost a truly one-of-a-kind individual. Born in Boston, Massachusetts on July 14, 1928 to Ralph and Josephine Loring Lavorgna, Phil spent his childhood in Concord, Massachusetts and many summers with his Italian-immigrant grandparents. The family was stationed in Panama when World War II broke out and travelled by ship to Louisiana, where Phil attended boarding school in New Orleans. Phil graduated from high school at Mt. St. Charles Academy in Woonsocket, Rhode Island and enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1946. He was stationed in Alaska when he met his future wife, Betty Anderson; they married in 1949.  While in the Air Force, Phil was stationed in southern California, with a deployment to Morocco during the Korean war; Logan, Utah at the ROTC office; Burtonwood Air Base in Lancashire, England; Athens, Greece; Luke Air Force Base, Arizona; Athens again; and Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland; retiring as a master sergeant in 1970.

Upon retiring, the family moved to Salt Lake City, where he started a second career in banking for Valley Bank and Trust, before permanently retiring. After Betty’s passing in 2001, Phil married Linda J. Tippie in 2003 and they enjoyed many more adventures together.

Phil had a wide variety of interests. He liked to garden, can and pickle, cook, hot air balloon and crew, hike, backpack, camp, raft, cross-country ski, usher at his parish and volunteer at the soup kitchen. He loved model railroading, owning/ operating private rail cars with excursions to Cape Canaveral, teaching Operation Lifesaver to Drivers Ed students and his work with the National Railway Historical Society.  He enjoyed the Utah Symphony, University  of Utah sports, NCAA tournaments, NASCAR and his coin and token groups.

He was preceded in death by Betty, brother Loring, and grandson Philip Catlin. He is survived by his wife Linda; children Bruce Lavorgna (Terri) and Terry Catlin (George Diwachak); grandchildren Danielle Coon (Walter) and Tony Lavorgna; great-grandsons Andrew, Aiden and William Coon – who adored their great-grandfather; and his nephews Wayne Chandler and John Lavorgna.

An outdoor celebration will be planned for this summer. We think Phil would appreciate any donations made in his name to the charity of your choice. He was always as generous as he could be, and he led by example. He was loved by many and will be greatly missed. We know he will rest in peace.