John Barker has advised of the passing of Phil Psaila who John advised was probably in his late 60s. Phillip passed way at 3 PM Monday 9th May 2022 from pancreatic cancer. You may recall Phil from OTC Engineering and Training. He will be sadly missed by wife, Kim, and his children, Vivian and Thomas.
Kim messaged Neale Hoggan on Monday 16 May that Phil wanted cremation only, no service.
Phil’s cremation will be on Saturday 21st May at Wagga Wagga – No service.
The family is having a private small family lunch for Phil after the cremation.
I well remember Phil from my days at Paddington Terminal. Phil was a happy go lucky friendly person who was well liked and respected by all who had the pleasure of knowing him.
If you have any memories of Phil that you would like to share with his friends and family via the OTVA web site or just with others on this email distribution list please email them to me indicating your preference and I will share them around.
May He Rest In Peace
8 Comments
I had the pleasure of having Phil working for/with me on Level 4 Broadway preparing for the commencement of service.
He was a lovely polite and quietly spoken man with a wicked sense if humour. I am saddened by the news of his passing.
Rob McAulay
Yes I do remember Phillip who worked for me on several projects including in New Guinea.
A willing worker and a thorough young gentleman at that time.
My condolences to his wife and children. Far too early a departure!
Wallace W DONALD
Sad news indeed. Phil was a nice guy.
One of my recollections of Phil Psaila was that, while at Training at Paddo, he & Dave Stimpson would gain entry to the Royal Easter Show via the back gate on Moore Park Road at the back of Paddo.
They did it by wearing “white coats” & looking like RAS officials.
Cheers
John Dodson
I also had the pleasure of working with Phil back in the early days (for me!) of Eng Branch. As Rob McAulay has said, he was always up for an off-the-wall joke or 3.
See you on the other side of the cct board Phil!
Andy Hemus
Yes, I do remember him.
Prayer for Phillip family ar this difficult time.
Regards Gerry Serrao
Lesley and I were saddened to hear of the death of Phil.
He and Kim were good friends but we have not seen them for some time.
Bruce Boler
Phil Psaila was one of those rare guys that you meet as you pass through life that were truly special. A really nice guy.
Yes, as legend has it, Phil and I used to treat it as a challenge – to get into the Royal Easter Show or Motor Show without paying ! Sometimes we used our OTC dustcoats with a clipboard, sometimes with a hand held multimeter. One just needed to be confident ! We only had an hour lunch break back when we worked a regulation 7 hour 21 minute day – does this still exist ?
I have attached a photo of myself, Phillip and David Neyle in much younger times.
Regards
Dave Stimson
Phil was a legendary instructor because of his “no bull” approach. If he did not know the answer he would say so, rather than pretend he knew all the answers.
May He Rest In Peace
Tom Neeson