Phil Memorial

Eulogy by Phil Montgomery Jr:

Like the rest of us, my dad was a lot of things - father, grandfather, brother, husband, 49 years a member of this church, 39 years a math professor… and 40 years a Mad Dog. He may have spent the last 20 years in a wheel chair, but if anyone ever asks me, "What was your dad like?" the answer is simple: he was a runner.

He was always active - I remember him playing some basketball, handball, then softball for years and years. I don't remember when he took up running (legend says it was 1971), but it was several years before The Joy of Running and jogging suits made it popular.

He had some of the first 'waffle trainers' - the early Nike designs. I remember him with his glue gun, fastidiously patching holes in the soles of his shoes, and running the dirt track at Allen Field House and cinders at Memorial Stadium. It started quite competitively - timed sprints, laps and 2-mile runs and relay teams, but evolved over time into a more civilized jog. When I was in college here, it seemed that everyone on campus was familiar with the "gang of old guys" that would head off on noontime runs around town. "I saw your dad!" I would hear all the time.

As I was cleaning out his house last week, I came across his running diaries that date back almost to the start.

· 1974, January 2nd "1 1/2 miles in 9:25, followed by 3 half-miles: 2:52, 2:52, 2:55"

· January 3rd - "12 quarter miles average around 80 (perhaps less)"
· January 16, through the streets of San Francisco during a math conference
· Running at the Field house, outside when the weather was good, and at the stadium for serious work
· That first year of record keeping, he ran 742 miles, the next year 1000
· In 1976, a familiar name appeared: February first "Field House with Flip". (I suspect that annotation is to explain the slow time)
· Feb 8, "ran with Flip 2 miles". (kindly no mention that I was probably whining all the way)

I drop off by the end of that spring, but he goes on and on, meticulously charting the miles.

· In '77, he takes the show to Costa Rica where he lived for about 7 months (disclaimer that "mileages are approximate," but still detailed out to "subtotal 761 miles")
· Hits 200 miles a month a couple of times in '78, a note at end of that year says he ran on 215 days averaging 7.1 miles per run
· Peaked at 1900 miles in '81.

Month after month, year after year, he has concise tallies of his activity. YOU might look at this and say that this level of documentation was obsessive, but I confess that the only difference between his exercise records and mine is that I use a spreadsheet and have prettier graphs these days.

He chugs through the '80s and had slowed down a bit by the the early '90s, but still running 3+ miles a day, 200 days a year, 70-80-90 mile months.

· Saturday, Sept 11, 1993 - "ANNUAL MAD DOGS RUN, 1 mile"

· He ran Mon-Fri the next week, 3 miles and change every day
· Sept 21, simply: "Surgery (Back)"

23,918 miles recorded up to that day. I suppose he was closer to 25,000 adding in the earliest years.

The diary misleads here. There's no gap, but when he takes up again, it's 1997

· June 2, "walked 70 feet at KU"

· June 4, "75 steps + 60 steps at home"
· July 30, 150 ft at a stretch
· By the end of August, 3050 feet cumulative.
· In Sept, he adds another 1500
· The noted total for 1997, "8,685 feet = 1.64 miles" (note the two decimal precision!)

Walking was always hard for him, but he set himself a goal to walk Cindy down the aisle when she got married. He made it, of course. He continued on and off for several years, but the pain was met with no gain and he eventually tapered off.

All that discipline paid off though. He lived independently until a couple of years ago. Breakfast with grandkids, tutoring at Bishop Seabury, working at races, serving here at the church. Flying to Boston, California and Washington by himself. Even organized and took the whole family to the Bahamas (2 years ago this week)

I saw him just a couple of weeks ago; he could hardly talk anymore by then. Mary and I went by the house and she showed off her newly gray and short hair. He looked up at her and replied softly, "I'm still prettier."

The body may have finally given out, but his spirit never did.

That was my father the runner: A Mad Dog until the end.

Phil Montgomery Memorial Service, 20 July 2013
Larry Spray, Grover Everett, Cheryl Miller, Pat Peery, Morrie Faiman, Mike Harmon, Bob Kent, Wes Hubert (in rear), Stan Lombardo (front), Ed Morris (obscured), Jim Orr, Robin Davis, Dan Bays, Fred Van Vleck, Bob Hanzlik, Larry Brady, Jim Guthrie, Dennis Rosen (photos courtesy of Bob Hanzlik)
Larry, Grover, Cheryl, Pat, Morrie	Mike, Bob, Wes, Stan, Ed, Jim, Robin
Phil Montgomery Jr and Jim Orr
Robin, Dan, Fred, Bob, Larry	Jim and Dennis
Dan Bays with MadDogs shirt	"MadDogs: The Best Pub in South China"
Jim Orr's eulogy: Good afternoon. I'm Jim Orr, a longtime friend of Phil's through the noon-time running group or Mad Dogs that Phil helped form at KU, back in the early 1970s. On behalf of our group members, many of whom are here today, I want to express our sincere condolences to Phil's family and to say a little about what Phil Montgomery meant to us over the years. Our running group got its start innocently enough when Phil and some of his colleagues in the Math department — Fred van Vleck, John Bunce, Jim Brewer, and perhaps others — started running regularly at noontime. It was not so common to see grown men and women running down the streets at noon in those days, so the group attracted attention. As other runners started to join in, Phil was always the first to welcome them to the group. The habit of running AT NOON, with two Brits in the group, led naturally to the group calling itself the "Mad Dogs and Englishmen," or just the Mad Dogs for short. Phil's enthusiasm and warm, friendly personality made him the obvious and uncontested "Leader of the Pack" — our "Top Dog." These same qualities make it easy to overlook the fact that he was also a talented runner. He completed at least two marathons and finished first in his age group at a 10K run sponsored by Mauptintour. I don’t recall that he ever took a break from running from 1971 until his surgery in 1993. Phil’s love for running and the sport of track extended to the Kansas Relays, where he served as a lead timer for track events and received an award from the Athletic Department for all his volunteer work. Phil was also a great organizer. For years he organized the annual fall Mad Dogs Run and Banquet. This Saturday NOON-TIME run had a staggered start, slower runners started first, faster runners last, so that everyone would finish together. I think Phil enjoyed seeing everyone finish together. Phil also organized the annual Mad Dogs banquet that followed. As far as I know, he handled all the details himself, including all the serious and not-so-serious awards, and the signed shoes for runners moving away. He did it all. Phil’s Fall Runs and Banquets brought us together in a way that reinforced the bonds we formed running on the streets of Lawrence. At some of these banquets he would ask each of us to submit "something about our best or most memorable run." Here are two of *his* submissions, from the archive: 1. “a 10-mile run into the country – beautiful fall weather – 45˚". 2. "another 10-mile run, went past the Co-op to Blue Mound, 25˚, blizzard, ran with Brewer, Ott, and Van Vleck." Over the years, more than 100 different individuals ran with the Mad Dogs at one time or another. Many have moved on, some have passed away, but many more have kept in touch thanks to Dick Lipsey's Mad Dogs Website and Newsletters. Since the sad news of Phil's death, there has been a huge outpouring of testimonials and fond remembrances of Phil. In closing I'd just like to read just a few of them. ________________________ ONE MAD DOG WROTE: “What I remember most about Phil was his welcoming nature when I first joined the noontime running group. When he invited me to join, and I said I was too slow, he told a little white lie and convinced me that there were several people who ran my pace. I'm glad he did, because I have since enjoyed many years with the Mad Dogs. ------------------------------------ OTHERS SAID: What a great connector he was! So kind and generous with his time. He could have left me in the dust to fend for myself, but he didn't. ------------------------------------ pause Phil was the chief orchestrator for the Mad Dogs — the Top Dog. His dignified, warm manner seemed to include everyone, and I felt instantly absorbed into the fray. --------------------------------- He clearly loved to run, but even more, he loved to run in the company of kindred running spirits. We would have followed him over a cliff if he had led us that way. ------------------------------ Phil was able to bring in folks together from disparate backgrounds and create a community. He touched so many people. It was much more than a running group--it was a support group. ------------------------------ I was never much of a runner, but the Mad Dogs have always been a big part of my attraction to KU. The existence and long run of this special group is a testament to Phil and the folks that surrounded and followed him. ------------------------------------ My final thoughts are that I hope these comments convey the love and admiration we all have for Phil. For the Mad Dogs, heaven will no doubt include a noon-day run. We will meet east of Robinson on the KU campus, under the large oak trees. Phil will be there to lead us. He always did, he always will.

Link to Phil's memorial page.
Eulogy by Phil Montgomery Jr: Like the rest of us, my dad was a lot of things - father, grandfather, brother, husband, 49 years a member of this church, 39 years a math professor… and 40 years a Mad Dog. He may have spent the last 20 years in a wheel chair, but if anyone ever asks me, "What was your dad like?" the answer is simple: he was a runner. He was always active - I remember him playing some basketball, handball, then softball for years and years. I don't remember when he took up running (legend says it was 1971), but it was several years before The Joy of Running and jogging suits made it popular. He had some of the first 'waffle trainers' - the early Nike designs. I remember him with his glue gun, fastidiously patching holes in the soles of his shoes, and running the dirt track at Allen Field House and cinders at Memorial Stadium. It started quite competitively - timed sprints, laps and 2-mile runs and relay teams, but evolved over time into a more civilized jog. When I was in college here, it seemed that everyone on campus was familiar with the "gang of old guys" that would head off on noontime runs around town. "I saw your dad!" I would hear all the time. As I was cleaning out his house last week, I came across his running diaries that date back almost to the start. · 1974, January 2nd "1 1/2 miles in 9:25, followed by 3 half-miles: 2:52, 2:52, 2:55" · January 3rd - "12 quarter miles average around 80 (perhaps less)" · January 16, through the streets of San Francisco during a math conference · Running at the Field house, outside when the weather was good, and at the stadium for serious work · That first year of record keeping, he ran 742 miles, the next year 1000 · In 1976, a familiar name appeared: February first "Field House with Flip". (I suspect that annotation is to explain the slow time) · Feb 8, "ran with Flip 2 miles". (kindly no mention that I was probably whining all the way) I drop off by the end of that spring, but he goes on and on, meticulously charting the miles. · In '77, he takes the show to Costa Rica where he lived for about 7 months (disclaimer that "mileages are approximate," but still detailed out to "subtotal 761 miles") · Hits 200 miles a month a couple of times in '78, a note at end of that year says he ran on 215 days averaging 7.1 miles per run · Peaked at 1900 miles in '81. Month after month, year after year, he has concise tallies of his activity. YOU might look at this and say that this level of documentation was obsessive, but I confess that the only difference between his exercise records and mine is that I use a spreadsheet and have prettier graphs these days. He chugs through the '80s and had slowed down a bit by the the early '90s, but still running 3+ miles a day, 200 days a year, 70-80-90 mile months. · Saturday, Sept 11, 1993 - "ANNUAL MAD DOGS RUN, 1 mile" · He ran Mon-Fri the next week, 3 miles and change every day · Sept 21, simply: "Surgery (Back)" 23,918 miles recorded up to that day. I suppose he was closer to 25,000 adding in the earliest years. The diary misleads here. There's no gap, but when he takes up again, it's 1997 · June 2, "walked 70 feet at KU" · June 4, "75 steps + 60 steps at home" · July 30, 150 ft at a stretch · By the end of August, 3050 feet cumulative. · In Sept, he adds another 1500 · The noted total for 1997, "8,685 feet = 1.64 miles" (note the two decimal precision!) Walking was always hard for him, but he set himself a goal to walk Cindy down the aisle when she got married. He made it, of course. He continued on and off for several years, but the pain was met with no gain and he eventually tapered off. All that discipline paid off though. He lived independently until a couple of years ago. Breakfast with grandkids, tutoring at Bishop Seabury, working at races, serving here at the church. Flying to Boston, California and Washington by himself. Even organized and took the whole family to the Bahamas (2 years ago this week) I saw him just a couple of weeks ago; he could hardly talk anymore by then. Mary and I went by the house and she showed off her newly gray and short hair. He looked up at her and replied softly, "I'm still prettier." The body may have finally given out, but his spirit never did. That was my father the runner: A Mad Dog until the end.
Photos below courtesy of Genna Hurd; click on images for larger version.

Phil Montgomery Memorial Service, 20 July 2013