Robert Bob Warner Phillips, 86, died on Nov. 14, 2013, at Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Family said he had heart problems, trouble walking, and a cyst on his liver, which created conditions that his body could no longer handle. He was born in Cornwall, Vt., on March 27, 1927, to James and Mary (Warner) Phillips. Four years later he was joined by his sister, Charlotte, which completed the family. He grew up on a farm during the Great Depression, and he learned to work at an early age. Living in a rural area, he went to a one-room school, where he showed his intelligence early. He was so much ahead of his classmates he jumped a grade. He graduated from Middlebury High School in 1944 as valedictorian of his class. Not only did he grow up in the Depression, he graduated from high school in the height of World War II, so he chose to serve his country in the Navy. He joined the V-12 program and went to Brown University. However, the war was over by the time he neared graduation, so he chose to leave the Navy. He graduated one year later from Brown in 1948. After one year of teaching at Lyndon Institute in Lyndon, Vt., he went to work in the Addison County Trust Co. After about 10 years in the local bank, he decided to go to New York City. There he was employed by the Irving Trust Co. for the rest of his working years, rising to a position of vice president. He was a computer expert, starting out determining how the numbers in the lower left hand corner of checks could best be arranged for safety, last into the future and be most efficient for the bank and client. His last job was to keep the bank accounts secure. While he was in that position there were no electronic invasions. He retired and started a whole new life of volunteering working with Habitat for Humanity, teaching church history to classes in his church, and leading the effort to maintain St. Annes Episcopal Church, especially the beautiful church windows. He later changed churches and went to St. Lukes in The Fields in Manhattan. There were many other interests in his life, including going to operas, attending plays, and visiting museums, as well as keeping up with the latest movies. Family said he loved both the exciting life of New York City and the quietness of the rural life in Vermont. He spent a great deal of his summer at the farm in Vermont, growing vegetables and flowers, sitting on the porch and reading with a cool drink. One of his great joys was taking produce from the garden to his friends at church. He also was a gourmet cook, really enjoying to prepare food for the family. He traveled extensively keeping a wonderful photo history of his trips around the world and in America. Digital cameras opened a whole new world to him, and he took great pleasure in sharing pictures with his friends. He is survived by his sister, Charlotte Phillips, and his special friend Ben, a friend of over 50 years in Brooklyn. He was preceded in death by his parents, four uncles and their wives. There will be memorial services at St. Lukes in The Fields on Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. and at the church where he was baptized and never forgot, the Cornwall Congregational Church, on Nov. 30 at 11 a.m.