Transcription
Obituaries
7 March 73
Pioneer Eastern Area Doctor Dies at Home
Dr. Benjamin F. Phillips, 67, the first medical doctors in the eastern Prince William County area, dies yesterday at his home following a long illness.
A native of Richmond, he graduated with honors from the Medical College of Virginia and began his practice in 1930. Until he was joined by Dr. A. J. Ferlazzo, he was the only doctor between Lorton and Falmouth.
During World War II, Dr. Phillips volunteered to serve in the U. S. Navy. He moved to Lorton in the mid-1940's and resided at 9000 Furnace Road at the time of his death.
Dr. Phillips was a member of the John A. LeJeune Masonic Lodge in Quantico and the Scottish Rite Temple in Alexandria.
He has been semi-retired for several years although he continued to see some patients and make occasional house calls, according to Frank Stephens, a close family friend. Occoquan supervisor Vern Dawson, whose family had known Dr. Phillips for many years, called him "a good doctor and one of the smartest diagnosticians in the country." Dr. Ferlazzo commented that Dr. Phillips never sent a bill.
Surviving are his widow, Julia: a daughter, Mrs. William W. Eskridge of Abingdon: a sister, Mrs. W. H. Norton of Huntington, W. Va. and a brother, Lance V. Phillips of Ashland.
Funeral Services are pending at the Cunningham-Mountcastle Funeral Home, Woodbridge. Burial will be in Richmond.
William T. Tolson
A funeral service was geld yesterday at the Cunningham-Mountcastle Funeral Home, Woodbridge, for William T. Tolson, 61, 128 Possum Point Road, Dumfries, who was found stabbed to death near the northbound lane of Route 1 in Dumfries March 2.
He had resided in Dumfries for the past three years and worked as a maintenance man for apartment buildings in Dumfries. Friends were received at the funeral home Sunday, and interment followed the funeral in Ft. Lincoln Cemetery, Suitland, Md. Mr. Tolson's widow, Anna Virginia, lives with a son, Frankie E. in Leesburg. Also surviving are two daughters, Mrs. Nettie Mae Wilson of Sterling and Mrs. Betty Ann Harold of Alexandria: a brother, Raymond Tolson of Richmond: four sistern, Mrs. Ethel M. Fritter of Colton Point, Md., Mrs. Carrie Barber of Garrisonville, Mrs. Gracie Boyer of Silver Spring, Md., and Mrs. Edna Mountjoy of Dumfries: and four grandchildren.
Potomac News Opinion Page
Friday, March 9, 1973, Page A-12
Dr. Benjamin Phillips
Dr. Benjamin F. Phillips, who died Tuesday morning at the age of 66, was a true pioneer. He was one of the first medical doctors to establish a full-time practive in eastern Prince William. For decades after opening his office in Triangle in 1930, Dr. Phillips labored under conditions which to many doctors today would be unbelievable. Eastern Prince William, norther Stafford and southeastern Fairfax counties in those days were undeveloped and sparsely settled. There was many a dirt road to travel and no hospitals or clinics within easy reach. Yet Dr. Phillips never refused a call, day of night, weekday or Sunday. And he seldom sent a bill. He worked for fees a doctor today would laugh at - house calls, for example, were charge at $1, regardless of the distance. If a patient didn't pay, the doctor never pressed him. Most area residents who were born here in the 1930s, before Dr. Phillips got some help, were delivered by him.
Retired now for a number of years and beset by illness, Dr. Phillips was little known to the many thousands of residents who have in recent years moved into his service area bringing with them a new way of life. The skilled and selfless dedication he brought to his profession, and to the people he served, however, will not easily be forgotten with his passing.
Dr. Phillips is Suicide Victim
Dr. Benjamin F. Phillips, 66, of 9000 Furnace Rd., Lorton, died Tuesday morning of a bullet would to the head, apparently self-inflicted.
Dr. Phillips was the first medical doctor in the Triangle area, coming in to work under primitive conditions in 1930. He served the Stafford and Woodbridge areas as well, traveling over rough roads to make between 10 and 15 calls a day, according to Dr. A.J. Ferlazzo of Triangle, who came to work as his assistant in 1938.
Dr. Phillips was born in Richmond June 23, 1906. He was a member of the John A. LeJeune Masonic Lodge 350and the Alexandria Consistory of Scottish Rite. He served in England in World War II as a Lt. Commander in the Navy. He was an honorary member of the medical staff of the Prince William Hospital.
A spokesman of the Fairfax County Police said that Dr. Phillips was found dead in his bed early Tuesday morning by his wife. He had a .38 caliber pistol in his hand and a bullet wound in his temple.
The spokesman said that Phillips had been semi-bedridden since a severe heart attack two years ago and had been a diabetic for two years.
Dr. Phillips was graduated from the Medical College of Virginia.
Funeral services are scheduled for 11 a.m. tomorrow at Cunningham-Mountcastle Funeral Home in Woodbridge. Rev. Albert Jones of Pohick Episcopal Church officiating.
6 March 73Transcriber
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