Phillip W. Marriott, 73, of Vero Beach, died March 5, 2010, at Shands Hospital at the University of Florida in Gainesville. He died peacefully, surrounded by his family.
Phil was born April 8, 1936, in Cedar Springs, Mich., the son of William and Marion Wheeler Marriott. He was raised in Mt. Vernon, N.Y., and attended A.B. Davis High School.
He graduated from Cornell University, with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Sibley College of Mechanical Engineering (1959) and an MBA from the Johnson School of Management (1960).
At Cornell he was co-captain of the Big Red basketball team for two seasons (’56-’57 and ’57-’58), a member of the national engineering honor society Tau Beta Pi, the Cornell honor society Quill and Dagger, and Sigma Nu fraternity.
He served in the United States Army as a First Lieutenant in Germany, Fort Lewis, Washington and the Aberdeen Proving Ground. He was part of the first contingent ordered by President John F. Kennedy to drive through East Germany by convoy to Berlin in 1961 in response to the erection of the Berlin Wall by East Germany.
Phil began his career with Mobil Oil Corporation in 1960, working in a variety of management roles for 33 years until his retirement.
Notable assignments included positions in Venezuela (1960-1961), Barbados (1962-1964), Chairman and Managing Director of Mobil Oil New Zealand (1978-1983), Chairman and Managing Director of Mobil Oil Australia (1983-1988) and Executive Vice President, Mobil Europe (1988-1991).
Subsequent to his retirement from Mobil, he worked as a consultant to the oil refining industry, working with London-based KBC Advanced Technologies. He lived in numerous locations around the world before making Vero Beach, his home with his wife and stepsons.
Before moving to Vero Beach ten years ago, he lived on four different continents and visited all the continents except Antarctica. He was an avid skier, tennis player and golfer and a member of Hawks Nest, Quail Valley and Royal Melbourne (Australia) golf clubs.
He is survived by his beloved wife, Beatriz de Wit Marriott, Vero Beach, and her sons Filip Agren and Karl Fredrik Agren. He is also survived by two children from his first marriage: his son, Phillip W. Marriott Jr. and daughter-in-law, Susannah Taylor, from Brooklyn, with three of his grandchildren, Ella, Katherine and Abigail; his daughter, Brooke Bartletta and son-in-law, Simon Bartletta, live in Hingham, Mass., with his other two grandchildren, Ethan and Sadie. He is also survived by his brother, David Marriott of Peekskill, N.Y., and his sister, Toni Garland of Peterborough, N.H.
A private celebration in Phil’s honor will be held on March 20, 2010. Donations may be made to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (www. leukemia-lymphoma.org) or by mail to Donor Services, P.O. Box 4072, Pittsfield, MA 01202, in his memory.
Arrangements are under the direction of Thomas S. Lowther Funeral Home and Crematory, Vero Beach. Condolences may be made at www. lowtherfuneralhome.com.
