On December 29, 2002, Truck Town Thunder-Team #68 suffered a tremendous and heartbreaking loss, with the death of Team Advisor, Phillip Clancy. Due to complications resulting from his recent diagnosis of leukemia, Phil lost his courageous battle against this terrible disease. Phil was always a positive role model and mentor for the members of Truck Town Thunder. His sense of humor and lighthearted nature was enjoyed by all those who knew him. As one of the team?s advisor-scout and strategist, Phil?s insight and expertise helped to set team #68 apart from other teams within the F.I.R.S.T. community. As, a driving force to encourage young women within the field of engineering, he was instrumental in creating ?Lady Thunder?, which was comprised of female members of Truck Town Thunder. They will never forget his love, support and inspiration. Phil will never be replaced in the hearts of his team and they will carry on his message of courage, dignity and grace. Team #68 will dedicate themselves to upholding the gracious professionalism that he demonstrated throughout his life.
I’m sorry to hear this. My condolences to everyone who knew him. I’m glad to hear he had a great impact on your team. It’s so unfortunate to lose him. I wish your team the best this year and hope you win one for him.
That is terribly sad. I can still remember speaking to him and working with him at competitions. He really was an amazing individual and was highly regarded on our team. My heart goes out to his family.
I’m very sorry about your loss as well. My team (353) also lost one of our teachers this year. On October 3rd, 2002, Mr. Swanson passed away from a heart attack. The kids on the team decided to name this years robot “Swanny5.” We miss him terribly, and the team will not be the same with out him at any cost. Swanson was always there for us to help out with anything, keep us focused, stocked up on M&Ms, and be there whenever we needed him. He put in endless hours, and knew how to keep us organized and put together as a team. Our team will go on though, I will be back to help teach the younger kids this year, and hopefully we will do better then ever, to show Mr. Swanson how much we care about him. He’ll be watching, and will always be with us, we’re going to try our best to make him proud. I’m sure your team will do great also, although it will be tough. Again, sorry about your loss, but if you need to talk to someone going through the same thing as you right now: AIM: Stacybg
good luck in the upcoming season!
-Stacy
. . . Team 353 Mentor and Teacher Bill Swanson 1955-2002 . . . gone but not forgotten . . .
The Coaches, Students and Delphi Engineers of Team 47, Chief Delphi would like to express our condolences to Phillip Clancy’s family and to Team 68. This loss is felt by the entire community of FIRST.
