Kevin Phillips was a newspaper publisher, mayor, MLA and family man. Yet if there’s one legacy he’ll be remembered for, it will be his work in securing a domestic violence shelter.
“Kevin was a very integral part of working with us as an organization to lobby the government for the dollars and proving the need to the government for the dollars that were required for this facility to happen,” said Louise Schweitzer, the executive director of the North East Outreach and Support Services, which operates the shelter. “Kevin worked alongside of us to make that happen. He saw the need and brought that forward as a definite need for his constituency.”
Schweitzer said that Phillips would attend every Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, an annual charity event where men walk in red high heels for the purpose of raising money for North East Outreach – even if injuries prevented him from participating. He was also instrumental in bringing the red shoes for two events in the legislature’s rotunda.
“Kevin was a friend of domestic violence advocacy,” Schweitzer said. “He was a strong voice that spoke out for the victims. It’s definitely a large loss for us personally, for us as an organization and for all of the victims that come through our doors.”
Yet the shelter is not his only legacy.
Rick Lang, Melfort’s mayor, said another legacy was the Kerry Vickar Centre, which had its final planning stages and construction begin during Phillips’ tenure as mayor.
“The fact that it is the facility that it is; it’s well-planned, it’s well-used, it’s a crown jewel in the city of Melfort as far the City of Melfort’s facilities go,” Lang said, adding it’s comparable to similar facilities in larger cities.
Lang said Phillips will also be remembered for the type of man he was.
“I think the other things he’ll be remembered for is his mannerisms. He was very easygoing, very well-liked,” he said. “Even when things weren’t going well, he always presented himself very well and people were attracted to that and they liked that aspect of his personality. That’s something that’s hard to replicate, that’s for sure, because it’s genuine.”
The City of Melfort had a memorial book at city hall. Lang said it would take a while for people to sign it because they were leaving long comments.
Fred Bradshaw, the MLA of Carrot River Valley, the constituency next to Phillips’, said the sudden passing was a shock to the close-knit members of the legislature.
“We’re totally devastated at losing a member like that,” he said. “It totally shocked everyone around the building.”
Bradshaw remembered Phillips as a community-minded person.
“Kevin was very supportive of northeast Saskatchewan and both of us agreed that be it in his constituency or my constituency, if things were happening, it was good for the whole of the Northeast and, as a result, the province as a whole.”
Bradshaw also remembered how Phillips loved his family.
“He often talked about April, his wife. He was a real family person,” he said. “He had a lot of respect for April, his kids and his grandkids.”
The MLA also recalled how Phillips would be able to research and find out information no one else could.
“Every now and then, he would look up some statistic and he would come with some numbers nobody else could come up with,” he said. “He would actually figure out all of the numbers right down to a tee and you never questioned him on it because he was right.”
“We’re going to miss him deeply. He was good at his job.”
