Philip George Fitterer

Philip George Fitterer (Phil), of Edgewood, Washington, passed away peacefully on May 27, 2020 following a short battle with cancer. Phil was born on November 7, 1940 in Ellensburg, Washington to Philip and Henrietta (Renville) Fitterer.  He graduated from Ellensburg High School in 1958, where he was a decorated 3-sport athlete—the quarterback of the football team, the point guard on the basketball team, and the centerfielder on the baseball team.  Phil continued his athletic career in all three sports at Central Washington University, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. In 1963, after leading the CWU football team to a 9-0 record, he received All-Evergreen Conference Honors for both offense and defense. He was inducted into the EHS Hall of Fame in 2017, and into the CWU Hall of Fame, for football and basketball, in 1988.  Phil served in the United States Army for two years, stationed for the majority of his term in Korea.  Upon his return from the service, Phil used his experiences in college athletics to become a coach; notably, he was an assistant coach for the CWU basketball team.  However, his favorite coaching moments were spent later in his life as the architect of several of his daughters’ youth basketball and softball teams.

Phil met his beloved wife of 45 years, Marian (Randich), in Ellensburg in 1969. They were married in December, 1974 and made their home in Puyallup, WA. Phil and Marian welcomed daughters Franki (currently of Falls Church, VA), and Mary (currently of Ashland, MA), and ultimately settled into their home of the past 37 years in Edgewood, WA. Phil was very involved in Franki and Mary’s academic, extra-curricular, and athletic activities; he never missed a game, a concert, a play, or a parent-teacher conference. Phil spent 30 years working for the Daily Racing Form, first as a writer and editor, and later as general manager of the Seattle office; he retired in 2004.  In his retirement, he enjoyed walking the Tacoma waterfront, reading the New York Times, watching every Mariners game, traveling to wine-tasting destinations with Marian, keeping up to date on all the events of Franki and Mary’s lives, caring for their dog, Cooper, and being a faithful parishioner of St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church.  In addition to Marian, Franki, and Mary, Phil is survived by his brother, Steve Fitterer of Clancy, Montana, his sister, Nancy Alexander of Seattle, WA, a loving extended family, and many close friends.  In lieu of flowers, Phil’s family suggests donations in his name to Fife High School, ASB Student Support Donation--Athletics, 5616 20th St. Fife, WA 98424.