Meek, Phillip J.

Publisher of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, senior vice-president of Capital Cities/ABC, and chairman of the board of trustees of Ohio Wesleyan.  His family connections in Phi Gamma Delta include a brother, a son, two grandsons, and a grandnephew.  He was named a Distinguished Fiji in 1987.

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From his obituary:

Phillip J. Meek of Frankfort, Michigan, passed away in his home on Tuesday, November 21, 2023. He was 86 years old. Phil recently commented on his life, "It has been quite a ride."

Phil was born in Los Angeles, California on November 17, 1937. He moved with his family to Fremont, Nebraska; St. Louis, Missouri; Akron, Ohio, Memphis, Tennessee; and finally, back to Akron where he graduated from Buchtel High School in 1955. Every move required Phil to practice one of the lessons his father taught him: "You have to merge with the traffic". He made friends wherever he lived and incorporated something from each community into his life. He played high school sports, was active in his church youth programs, was a Boy Scout, but his favorite school activity was the newspaper.

His career spanned from a newspaper route for the Cleveland Plain Dealer in the 1950's to becoming Senior Vice President of Capital Cities/ABC and president of the publishing division in 1986. Phil retired in 1997 from Disney/ABC. Along the way, Phil remained humble and grounded in his daily life. His curious mind was always ready for more information and he learned from everyone: his parents, teachers and professors, colleagues, cashiers at grocery stores, taxi drivers and more. The only time Phil boasted about himself was sharing how he was faster at calculations in meetings than those with calculators. His gentle and kind nature, along with his friendly smile, made it easy for him to engage with people. He took pleasure listening and learning from other people's stories.
He went to college at Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) in Delaware, Ohio where he met the love of his life, Nancy Jean LaPorte. While at OWU, he was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity and was elected president of the Phi Society. He was also a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Pi Delta Epsilon and was active with the school newspaper, The Transcript. Phil graduated with honors in 1959 with a degree in Economics and went on to the Harvard Business School, graduating in 1961 with his MBA. At Harvard, Phil was elected president of the Student Association.

Phil and Nancy were married in 1960. They moved to the Detroit, Michigan area in 1961, where Phil began his career at the Ford Motor Company. Following the riots in Detroit in 1968, he was asked to serve as president of the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) to focus on the redevelopment of the city. His mentor, Dan Burke, commented, "I was struck by his practicality and idealism His determination as a young man to get involved to the detriment of his career impressed me." In 1970, Dan Burke recommended to Capital Cities Communications, the new owners of the Pontiac Press (later renamed the Oakland Press), that Phil should be hired as publisher; a position he held for 7 years. In 1977, Capital Cities named him publisher of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in Fort Worth, Texas. During Phil's tenure as publisher, the newspaper received 2 Pulitzer Prizes: in 1981 for spot news photography, and in 1985 for distinguished public service. The 1985 purchase of ABC by Capital Cities resulted in Phil's promotion to Senior Vice President of Capital Cities/ABC and president of its publishing division. He had oversight of 7 daily newspapers, 28 weeklies, 100's of magazines, shopping guides and newsletters. Phil followed the management mantra of Capital Cities: hire good people and leave them alone to do their best. In 1996, when Disney acquired Capital Cities/ABC, Phil remained with the company and was charged with selling the various publications for a total of $3.5 billion.

Phil's philanthropic endeavors throughout his adult life reflected a lesson from his parents: "To whom much is given, much is expected". He was active in the churches that he and Nancy joined as they moved from Detroit, to Fort Worth and Greenwich, Connecticut. In Pontiac, he was active with the United Way and served on the Pontiac Silverdome Stadium Authority. In Fort Worth, he continued his support of the United Way, where he led the first $1 million TCU/Tarrant County campaign and later served as president and chairman. He also served on the United Way board in New York. Phil and Nancy both remained engaged with OWU, and Phil served for many years as a member of the Board of Trustees, contributing expertise and financial support, before becoming chairman. In 1997, he was elected to the board of Trustees of the Guideposts organization and served on the board for many years.

In 2009, Phil and Nancy made their final move to Frankfort, Michigan. They have been generous supporters of the Interlochen Center for the Arts, Paul Oliver and Munson hospitals, Benzie Area Christian Neighbors (BACN), and the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy.

Phil loved music of all genres. When he was a boy in Memphis, he discovered the R&B sound of Ruth Brown, and a young Elvis Presley. His collection of 78's grew back in Akron where he listened to "rock and roll" played by Alan Freed on Cleveland radio. During the tumultuous 1960's, Phil took to music to try to understand the changing times and added the Beatles, Lou Rawls, the Supremes, Aretha Franklin, Three Dog Night, Pete Seger and the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar to his collection. The move to Fort Worth added a new dimension to his music tastes and he loved listening to classic country at the end of the day. Later in life, he could get lost in a Beethoven symphony.
His favorite pastime was golf. He played at many of the best courses in the world, and always enjoyed his beloved Crystal Downs. Phil loved spending time with his family and knowing that the generations succeeding him were connected to each other with shared experiences, love and respect.

Phil is survived by his wife of 63 years, Nancy; his daughter, Kathy Lehner (Alexandria, Virginia), and her family: husband Tom, and children Kevin, Emma and Becky; his son Brian (Northbrook, Illinois), and his family: wife Lori, and children Adam (Kate), Erik (Colleen) and Clara; his daughter Laurie Meek (Fort Worth, Texas) and her family: Jordan Smith (Cameron) and their son, Stetson, and Peyton Larkin. He is also survived by his brother, Donald C. Meek and sister, Marilyn Webster, both of Bonita Springs, Florida.

The family asks that gifts to honor Phil be made to Promedica Hospice Care (Northwest Michigan), Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy or Ohio Wesleyan University. A Celebration of Phil's Life is being planned for mid-May 2024, when the cherry trees are blossoming on the farm in Michigan.