Beloved husband, father, and grandfather, Philip Weirich began his life on May 9th, 1955 as the sixth of eight children born to Edward and Irene Weirich. Phil went to be with the lord on March 17, 2020.
As a child Phil grew up in a family with two "gangs of four".  The four older sibling and the four younger siblings.  Phil belonged to "the little kids".  This likely contributed to his patient nature. As young man, Phil was rarely idle.  He held multiple jobs, was a boy scout, and played the drum and piano. Phil was also very industrious growing up.  He once took on the task of teaching himself how to re-roof his mother's home, having no prior experience. This love for tinkering and fixing things continued long into his adulthood as well. Phil was kind-hearted growing up, generous with his time, and always available to help his parents or siblings.
From a young age Phil had a love for science, and he pursued this love at the University of Illinois where he double majored in biology and microbiology.  This was also when he dedicated his life to Jesus through the ministry of Navigators. Becoming a Christian only intensified Phil's love for science. He firmly believed that all of creation pointed to its careful and powerful Creator, and that science and faith were not opposites, but rather enforced and strengthened one another.
After graduating, Phil began working at Amersham Biosciences. Through his friendship with some Iraqi colleagues, a love for Arab people was born and Phil decided to explore living overseas. This was what eventually led him to Paris to study French, where he first met his future wife of 35 years and greatest treasure, Marie-Jane.  Phil proposed, in French, in front of Notre Dame.
Phil and Marie-Jane married in the Swiss alps and moved to Jordan to begin studying Arabic. While studying Arabic in Jordan, they welcomed their two children, Jeremy and Melanie. In 1991 they moved to Yemen, launching their two decade adventure of serving the Lord in the Middle East.
Phil's professional career was with Quality School International (QSI), an international educational foundation dedicated to providing high quality education throughout the world. For the first half of his career, Phil taught high school science to students at Sana'a International School (SIS). He was beloved by his students for his creative and fun-loving approach to teaching and his genuine care for them and desire for them to succeed. One of his favorite parts of the day was when his students would come into his classroom to review the day's material or just talk about life. During this time, Phil also completed a Masters Degree in Liberal Sciences.
In 2011 Phil became the director of SIS.  For the next four years, Phil faced the difficult task of running a school during a political crisis and then a civil war.  As the director of the only internationally accredited school in Sanaa, Phil fought to keep education available to his students for as long as possible.  The school eventually closed in 2015 for the safety of the students and faculty, and administrative headquarters for QSI moved to Slovenia.
This began the final chapter of Phil's life with QSI, working full time as the Director of Curriculum and Resource. He and his team were responsible for writing the curriculum that would be taught in QSI's school in 27 different countries. Phil traveled extensively during this period, visiting the schools under his care personally. He was passionate about his work and refused to let his diagnosis of Stage IV cancer in 2017 prevent him from serving others. He was surely one of the most loyal, dedicated, and kind men QSI ever had the honor to employ. Whether it was his students, his school, or the entire network of schools within QSI, Phil lived his life focused on serving others.
Phil demonstrated great strength of heart throughout his two and a half year battle with cancer. Amidst countless chemo treatments and surgeries, he was hopeful, uncomplaining, and patient. He faced intense and constant pain with a heart focused instead on the blessings in his life. His emails to his family even after a long day of treatment were often filled with gratitude, Scripture, and even the occasional joke. His unwillingness to give into self-pity and negativity was inspiring to all around him.
Phil possessed many admirable qualities. He had a great sense of humor and loved joking around with his students and family. One of his most special gifts was as a peacemaker. Whether it was negotiating over land disputes with a violent Yemeni tribe or discussing important nuances to an evolving curriculum, Phil's manner was always gentle yet confident. He was an exceptional listener, full of wisdom on many subjects (education, culture, languages, Islam, and the Bible) but always humble and slow to speak. It was impossible not to feel relaxed and cared for in his presence. As it says in James 1:19-20, Phil was "quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger" and a righteous man because of it.
Despite their joy that Phil is at rest with Jesus, he will be dearly missed by his wife, Marie-Jane, his two children Jeremy (Pang) Weirich, and Melanie(Josh) Simmerman, and his two granddaughters Alithea and Constance.
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."  Romans 15:13

A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, May 5th at 10:00 a.m. at Wheaton Bible Church. Anyone who wishes to attend must pre-register by following this link: Registration Form for Weirich Memorial . For those who wish to attend virtually, a live stream of the service will be available on YouTube here: Philip Weirich Memorial Service .

Memorial donations can be made in his name to the children and adult literacy program at Puente del Pueblo , where Phil had hoped to tutor after his retirement, or they would gratefully accept flowers for the memorial service on May 5th.

Testimonials from Friends of Phil Weirich:

Phil was first a friend with those that he met.  He wanted to hear each person's story.   Phil's warm hand reached out first in friendship and then leading others to success.  This happened not only with us as colleagues but with the students he loved and served.  I know that many of you may have had the wonderful opportunity to experience his way of connecting with people

Phil was always available to help no matter what the situation.  Whether taking down a word wall for a teacher on the last day of school, listening to a teacher that was being transferred out of Yemen but did not want to leave, students in their work, learning a new bit of technology to bring success to others in a meaningful way, leading the curriculum writers to success in his kind and gentle way, or listening to a frustrated QSI administrator struggle through a challenging time.  Whatever the challenge, Phil was there to help and serve others and QSI.   Phil was a strong believer in the foundations of QSI and success for students and staff.  Phil was a living example of the QSI Success Orientations.

Phil was there to support and bring success to many people wherever he lived.  We will miss his sensitive spirit, his warm infectious smile, and that gentle touch when we needed it the most.   Phil, your presence in our lives will ever be missed.

Phil would want you to receive following in love:

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."  Romans 15:13

- Jerry and Cathy Scott

One of the greatest blessings of my life has been having Phil in my life for the last 50 years. They say that "True friends don't judge you for the dumb things you did growing up. Best friends do them with you." Phil was my best friend. He was calm, laid back and steady. His friendship and humor made any situation, not only tolerable but fun. He brought a sense of humor and expectation to everything we did. Phil was a man of character and integrity. With Phil, what you saw was what you got. I've never known him to have hidden agendas or to put up a false front. He was a true man.

Phil was a man of faith. He grew up in the Catholic church and with a solid Catholic education. He fulfilled it in 1985 when he accepted Christ as his savior. He spent the rest of his life serving God. He looked to his heavenly Father in every situation. Phil wasn't proud or ambitious. He was willing to go minister in a difficult part of the world where there wasn't a lot of recognition or reward but he had the inner satisfaction of serving God with his whole heart. He worked hard, day after day and year after year bringing faith to people far away.

Phil was a man of hope. He worked hard and, while I know there were difficult and discouraging times, he would continue on in unwavering hope of seeing God work. He seemed to be the eternal optimist. In a difficult situation, he wouldn't dwell on the negatives but would look for a way out. One of the most vivid memories I have of Phil was many years ago, we were messing around in his old Pontiac and we got it buried up to the frame in mud. I will always remember him standing in the light of the headlights, knee deep in mud. Instead of being mad or frustrated, I can still see him with a big smile on his face, insisting that if he'd had his snow tires on the car, we would have made it!

Phil loved people. He loved his family. He glowed when he spoke of Marie Jane and he was so proud of Jeremy and Melanie. Phil loved the family he grew up in even though, I swear, after all this time, I've never met them all. He loved the people he ministered to and the kids at the school. And no matter how much time or how many miles separated us, I knew he loved me.

But most of all, he loved God with all his heart. He has finally entered into His rest.

- David Schrock

Phil was an easy person to love.  Not just the love you naturally feel for a brother but the love you feel for a truly good person.

Growing up in a large family he was typically above the family fray that could be happening at any given time.  He usually stayed neutral or tried to diffuse the situation with a bit of humor. I think he was our family's personal Switzerland.  Perhaps this was a portent of the woman he would eventually marry from Switzerland, Marie-Jane.  There always seemed to be a bit of humor that Phil would instill.  I think he saw the importance of humor in communicating.  This made him endearing but was also effective in getting a point across.

Phil was often looking out for others. He took it upon himself to do little things to help like making sure our youngest sister had her fair share of milk at the dinner table. That was something that could easily be overlooked.  Small things like this were evidence of his kindness without any expectation of getting anything in return. He was a tremendous help to our parents, doing many chores around the house and helping out at the family business, Copy-Graph, more than expected or required.  He saw the need and jumped right in.

Phil encouraged curiosity and independence in others.  I remember a story he told me about a school field trip in Yemen.  The class was at the sea coast and Phil was watching the cliff above when he noticed a student at the top.  He quickly realized it was his son Jeremey.  He laughed at the memory, just shaking his head thinking of the risk to Jeremey but also accepting his need to explore.  I was very impressed by the way he handled Jeremy's curiosity.

I remember  Phil coming home from college, I believe it was his Junior year, excited about a new-found faith.  He was eager to share this with others.  He invited me and our mother to sit at the family dining room table to explain how he came to this faith.  He wanted to share his experience and the comfort he felt. He carried this faith with him and lived it the rest of his life.

So yes, Phil was an easy person to love.  He lived a life of purpose.  As our brother Ken mentioned to me recently he thinks that Phil's purpose in life was to inspire.  We were lucky to have him as a member of our family.  He was a good example of a son, a brother, a friend, a colleague, a father and a husband.  He is missed.

- Elaine Kopera