U.S. Army Captain Hunter Ian Phillips, 28, of New Mexico died Jan. 5, 2023 following a sudden and valiant battle with cancer.
Born May 10, 1994 in Gelnhausen, Germany, Hunter was one of two children born to Colonel and Mrs. Travis Phillips.
Hunter grew-up at various military post throughout the United States prior to graduating from Palos Verde High School in Rancho Palos Verde, California in 2012. He was commissioned as an Infantry Officer upon his graduation from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 2016.
Hunter was widely admired and loved by his fellow soldiers, friends and family for his infectious enthusiasm, profound intellect, and cunning wit. Influenced by the great Greek and Roman poet/scholars, Hunter embraced the quest for knowledge and understanding exemplified by Horace’s Sapere Aude, “dare to know.”
An adventurer and mountaineer at heart, Hunter climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, trekked in Nepal, and toured Vietnam. He earned a Ranger tab and deployed to Africa and the Middle East.
While a soldier of the fiercest caliber, Hunter could also be humble and giving, often volunteering his time and money to a variety of charitable causes.
While stationed with the 10th Mountain Division in upstate New York, Hunter lived on the shore of the St. Lawrence River where he enjoyed reading, hunting ducks, and fishing. It was here that he met his soul mate, Robin Kompf of Syracuse New York, and proposed to her on top of Mt. Jo in the Adirondacks. They were married August 2021 in Sierra Vista Arizona.
Hunter was last assigned to the newly created 11th Cyber Battalion at Fort Gordon, Georgia when he fell ill.
Hunter Phillips is survived by his wife, Robin, and their beloved boxer, “Moose,” his parents, Travis and Catarina Sanchez Phillips and his cherished sister, Alma of White Rock, New Mexico; grandparents Allen and Cathy Phillips of Sagle, Idaho and many aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.
A funeral Mass for Hunter will be celebrated at 2 p.m. Thursday, Jan, 26 at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Los Alamos, NM. A reception will follow at Karen McLaughlin Parish Hall.
Interment will be at the Santa Fe National Cemetery, Jan. 27, 2023.