Philip J. McGovern

Philip John McGovern 70, of Newark, DE passed away on Saturday, September 14, 2024 surrounded by his loving family.

Born and raised in Hockessin, Phil was the son of Edward & Jane McGovern of Hockessin, DE. A 1972 graduate of A.I. Dupont High School, Philip retired from PSEG after more than 30 years in the maintenance department at Hope Creek. His coworkers remember him by his many impersonations, his ability to make cod sandwiches for everyone at lunch, and trying to convince his coworkers that the Blues was the best music.

Phil was an amateur radio operator and belonged to the State Line Radio Club and Chesapeake Bay Radio Clubs. He was also a fantastic trap shooter and belonged to both the Wilmington Trap Shooting Club and Oxford Gun Clubs. Phil would often sit in his backyard waiting to feed the many squirrels from his hand. He could fix just about anything and would help the radio clubs design or fix various issues at repeater sites. Other than Diane, his biggest love were his granddaughters Hadley and Lacey. He loved watching them grow and becoming the “heathens” he loved so much. One of his favorite vacations was most recently to Jackson Hole, WY, and Yellowstone National Park, in which he shared many photos of his granddaughters to family and friends of their first plane ride, hiking in the mountains, and generally loving life. They will miss him dearly.

Phil will be so dearly missed by those who knew and loved him, especially those who he is survived by, Diane McGovern, his loving wife of 50 years, his daughter Heather Clagg (Jason), his sister Alice Snell, his brother Steve McGovern, brother-in-law Mark Dailey, nieces Helen Ounjian, Joye Sipe (James), Morgan McGovern, and his granddaughters Hadley and Lacey Clagg. Phil is predeceased by his mother, father, son Benjamin, and brother-in-law Phillip Snell.

A Memorial Service will be held on Monday, September 23, 2024 at 11:00 AM at Chandler Funeral Home, 7230 Lancaster Pike Hockessin, Delaware 19707. Friends may begin visiting with the family beginning at 10:00 AM. Interment will be private.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Delaware Humane Association, 701 A Street, Wilmington, DE 19801 or online at https://www.humaneanimalpartners.org/ .

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Ed Skorak writes,

To Diane and the family, I am so sorry to hear of Phil's passing. Phil was a great friend! Phil and I fished many a DMS tournament together back the 80's. Forever playing Stevie Ray Vaughan while surf fishing. Many great trips along with Ben when he was just a little boy. Phil and I also invented the Jersey Flounder at Broadkill Beach The story took place when one day we saw another fisherman down the beach pulling in them in left and right while we were being skunked. To far to see what was going on Phil and I packed up our gear and our curiosity made us drive down the beach to see what this guy had going on. The guy told us he was killing the flounder all afternoon and he had several that he was going to take to the Game Warden, as he thought they were citation size fish. Phil and I were both astonished and asked if he minded if we looked in the cooler which was around the back the guys truck. The guy stayed in his beach chair with his poles and said sure have a look. We walked around and opened cooler and it was all I could do to hold in my laughter. This guy had a cooler full of Skates!!!! Phil and I quietly looked each other smiling, closed the lid, and noticed his New Jersey license plate, obviously a visitor from the ferry across the bay. When we walked back to guy he asked us what we thought and Phil, ....insert poignant pause.... well Phil answered "Heck Yeah those are nice! You definitely need to stop at the Warden's Station, you've got a Citation in there for sure!" Then we left him and drove off the beach, laughing the whole way. Shortly after I said to Phil, "I guess those are Flounders in New Jersey!!!!" After that anytime we caught a Skate we called it a Jersey Flounder. I still do to this day!!! Here's to you brother! It's still Flooding down in Texas!!! You will be missed!!!!

09/18/2024 06:59 pm

Richard Greer lit a candle and writes,

To Diane and family sorry for your loss. Phil was a great guy and will be dearly missed. Had great times with. him especially at my parties playing horseshoes and listening to the blues.

09/19/2024 08:15 am

Steven Hastings writes,

On behalf of Wilmington Trapshooting Association and the trapshooting community, please accept our sincere condolences. Phil was a frequent competitor at our club.

09/19/2024 11:27 am

Bertha A. Ruggiero writes,

It has been my pleasure to have met Phil. He has been a wonderful friend to my son and always gracious and respectful. I will miss his smile and laughter.

09/19/2024 03:48 pm

Richard Malin writes,

To Alice, Steve and Phil's family. I am so sorry to hear about Phil. I will try and make it to the funeral service. Would love to see you all. Again so sorry. Dickie.

09/19/2024 05:08 pm

Deborah Blevins Ashcraft writes,

Diane and family So sorry to hear of Phil's passing. Such a nice guy.

09/20/2024 04:04 pm

Melissa Barber writes,

I was so saddened to hear that Phil has passed away. My sincere condolences to his dear family and friends. Phil was my shift partner back in the late 90’s and 2000’s. We had such great times and memories as a small crew. He definitely was very good at impersonating us. I never knew I scuffed my feet until Phil impersonated my walk! I am very grateful that we kept in contact after he retired. There were more laughs, stories and jokes to tell. I will miss him terribly. See you on the other side one day Phil, we will have another cod sandwich together, and maybe even some waffles and whipped cream like the old days. ❤️

09/20/2024 04:35 pm

Greg lit a candle and writes,

To Diane and the family, I am sorry and saddened to hear that Phil passed away. He was a great person and used to love talking to him on the Amateur Radio bands locally and also on the repeaters in the past. We always used to chat about his prized possessions radio's like the TRAM D201 and technical discussions like the tubes that made the radio room glow in the dark. When I went over to visit, he always used talk about his radio setup in the garage and future setup in the house. He also loved to talk about also his prized vintage Chevy that he owned. Phil was a great Amateur Radio operator that always gave respect to everyone and we enjoyed all the chats over the radio. Phil always helped out at our State Line Radio Club picnics, brought his grill and helped cook over the years. Phil always went out of his way to help his fellow radio operators and friends when they had projects, big or small. A big "Thank You." Phil changed the lives of many with his great personality and making us laugh at his stories and jokes. I will never forget Phil's glowing personality and how he reached out to people. Phil will be greatly missed. Even after his passing, his voice over the radio and in person will always be remembered and never fade from our memories.

09/21/2024 06:12 pm

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