Phillip Joseph Maynard

Phillip Joseph Maynard. 

Phillip was born October 13, 1989, in Racine, Wisconsin. He lived in Caledonia until April 1993 and moved to Hubertus. He went to Amy Belle School from 1994 to 2002, going to Kennedy Middle School 2002 to 2005 and finished at Germantown High School 2005-2008. While in school, he was not active in sports or activities, but he did make many very good friends along the way. He did, we found out later, have sleep apnea and struggled his senior year, but with the credit recovery program, completed his classes graduating with his class.

Phillip was involved with Scouting while growing up. He started as a Tiger Cub, Wolf, Bear and Webelos in Pack 165 and a Scout in Troop 165. He attained the rank of Life Scout, with one merit badge and project to complete for his Eagle by his 16th birthday. After watching his brothers struggle through his rejection, appeal and finally being awarded his Eagle, Phillip, lacking self-confidence, decided not to try for Eagle, but stayed in Scouts until his youngest brother joined the troop in 2008. Years later, he would thank us for keeping him in Scouts because it taught him how to talk to other adults.

He worked at many parttime jobs, from line cook at McDonald’s and grass cutting to forklift driving and Flex driving for Amazon.

His friends meant everything to him: the Dells trips and bonfires being most special. He never tried to let you know how much he was sad and hurting as he became the 3rd wheel as you got boy or girlfriends and or married. He wanted so much to have something like you had.

All the while he would help around the house or with his grandmother, he both learned to do more things and taught us how to use the Web. Even with her failing memory, his grandmother never forgot him when he was with her when mom and dad needed to be away. Years ago, depression started getting to Phill and he started overeating. After the large weight gain, he wanted to turn his life around and after finding out he had sleep apnea and using a C-pap machine, he had much more energy and was much more active. He had weight loss surgery. He lost almost 250 lbs. and was out taking his daily walk when he was struck be the train. He was advised not to walk the ¼ mile of tracks, but it removed a big hill from his walk and he would get off the tracks onto a closed quarry road for the last of the first half of his walk.

A trail camera caught a picture of Phill walking the road and smiling and looking to be enjoying his music. It must have been too loud. That area of the tracks curve through is wooded. The road where Phill got on the tracks at is closed so the engine does not sound its horn. The speed limit on the tracks is 50 miles per hour, so by the time the engineer would see him, sound the horn and lock the brakes, there was nothing they could do. Phillip died instantly. God took him from us one week before his 32nd birthday. It was way too soon.

A Memorial Gathering will be held for Phil on Saturday, October 23, 2021, from 12:00 Noon until the Memorial Service and Time of Sharing at 1:00pm, all at Jelacic Funeral Home, 5639 West Hampton Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53218. 

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