Philip Howard Feather, 90, of Cornwall, passed away on Sunday, May 18, 2025, at WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital. He was the husband of Judith K. Feather, with whom he celebrated 63 years of marriage.
Phil was born in Lebanon on May 9, 1935, to the late John W. and Myrl (Corl) Feather. He was a graduate of Lebanon High School (1953), Lebanon Valley College (1960), and Dickinson School of Law (1963). He joined the Marine Corps after he graduated from high school, and he credited the GI Bill of Rights for giving him the opportunity to get a higher education. He often said he repaid the federal government many times over with the taxes he paid on money he never would have earned without that education. He was an attorney from 1963 until his retirement in 2005. Phil was a member of Christ Church United Church of Christ in Annville, his entire adult life.
Lawyers were prohibited from advertising when Phil joined the bar, so a senior colleague advised him to get known by running for office. In 1965, he ran an unsuccessful campaign for Lebanon County Register of Wills as a Democrat. Two years later, he succeeded in winning an election to serve as a delegate to the 1967-68 Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention. He later served four terms as a County Commissioner (1972-1980 and 1988-1996), including four years with fellow Democrat John Anspach, the only four-year period in Lebanon County’s history when Democrats held the majority of commission seats.
He was president of the Lebanon County Historical Society, president of the consistory at Christ Church UCC in Annville, president of the Annville Jaycees, and was involved with Annville Rotary. While at Cornwall Manor, he was the chairman of the Patriot Committee and the Building/Grounds Committee. He was the founder of the Annville Billiards Club. He loved spending time with family and traveling. Phil enjoyed playing pool and sailing, and anything to do with politics. He loved to host parties, most notably the annual Swatarii Safari, Memorial Day parade-watching, Super Bowl, and random celebrations just for so. He recently completed a book about his life, which is available upon request under the condition that once read, the book is given to someone else to read.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by his daughter, Karen M. Feather; son-in-law, Michael Schroeder, of South Annville; grandchildren, Carolyn Pirtle (Clayton) and Mark Wolf; great-granddaughter, Audrey Pirtle; sister and brother-in-law, Joanne and Bill Foeller, of Orchard Park, NY; and son-in-law, Tom Wolf.
He was preceded in death by his daughter, Susan F. Wolf; and siblings, John E. Feather Sr., Helen M. Templin, Dorothy E. Heilman, Marion Gingrich, and Mildred Feather.
A memorial service will take place on Saturday, June 7, 2025, at 11 a.m., at Christ Church United Church of Christ, 200 S. White Oak St., Annville. There will be a visitation from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. at the church.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Lebanon County Historical Society, 924 Cumberland St., Lebanon, PA 17042, or the Cornwall Manor-Benevolent Fund, 1 Boyd St., P.O. Box 125, Cornwall, PA 17016.
