February 25, 1940 – May 31, 2023

Dr. Phillip Hudson Winslow passed away on May 31, 2023 in Ponca City, Oklahoma. He was a devoted father, grandfather, brother, and husband who enjoyed his work as a physician serving the people of Ponca City, a place he dearly loved. A service to celebrate Phillip’s life will occur at 11:00 on Thursday, June 8, 2023 at Grace Episcopal Church in Ponca City. In lieu of flowers, the family requests people donate to the Opportunity Center of Ponca City (www.opcenterok.wixsite. com).

Phillip was born in Norman, Oklahoma on February 25, 1940 to Mary Josephine (Hudson) Winslow and David Clinton Winslow. In 1941, Phillip, his parents, and older brother David moved to Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico, followed by moves to White Sands, Santa Fe, Cuba (NM) and eventually to Lindrith toward the end of World War Two.

The boys played in the White Sands next to the Alamogordo Air Force Base where pilots trained and played in pinyon pine forests when living in more wooded areas. The family lived in adobe and log homes (frequently without running water, gas or electricity) in towns with wooden sidewalks and mud roads, got milk from their goat “Catalina” (also a great playmate for the boys), and had dogs to scare away predators. Unbeknownst to the boys, their father performed initial survey work for the location of the secret Los Alamos National Laboratory.

After the war, the family primarily lived in Stillwater where Phillip’s father served as a geography professor at Oklahoma A&M (the current Oklahoma State University). Phillip excelled academically, worked hard as a paper boy, and became an Eagle Scout. Phillip graduated from Stillwater High School in 1957. He went to Oklahoma State University, continued to excel academically, and graduated in 1961 with a bachelor’s degree in Zoology.

Phillip always wanted to be a doctor starting at the age of three while listening to “The Doctor Speaks” on the radio. After OSU, he attended Thomas Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. Phillip was also commissioned as an Ensign in the U.S. Navy in the Summer of 1961 and pursued his medical studies while serving as a naval officer. After graduating in 1965 and performing an internship in New Jersey, Phillip served on active duty from 1966 until 1969 as the General Medical Officer at Naval Radio Station Fort Allen near Ponce, Puerto Rico. He was promoted three times and finished his military service as a Lieutenant Commander. While in Philadelphia, he met his first wife Susan, they married in 1965 and his first son Matthew was born in 1968.

Phillip and his family moved to Kansas City in 1969 for his residency in urology. His second son Paul was born in 1970. In addition to his regular medical duties, Phillip sometimes served as a stadium doctor for the Kansas City Royals baseball team.

Phillip returned to Oklahoma and established his medical practice in Ponca City in 1973. Along with his regular urology work, Phillip started the city’s dialysis unit. He worked as a surgeon until the end of 2009. Phillip never asked a patient about their ability to pay; at least one patient baked a pie to pay for his services. Phillip’s focus was always on the well-being of the patient. He stopped working as a surgeon at the age of 70. However, Phillip wanted to remain active and engaged with people, so he started the Ponca City Laser Center in 2010 to perform tattoo removal and other cosmetic treatments. At age 83, Phillip continued to go to the office until shortly before his passing. In 2009, he married his second wife Sherry Melquist, a nurse in Ponca City, and welcomed stepdaughter Pam and her husband and son into the family.

Phillip provided unconditional love and support to his family members and encouraged education and travel. He highly valued education, a principle acquired from his professor father and school teacher mother. Phillip was a man of learning who traveled widely in the U.S. and around the world (above photo is from Bariloche, Argentina). He studied the countries visited and gave slide presentations to civic groups and residents of long-term care facilities to share knowledge with others. Phillip was proud of Ponca City and enthusiastically gave driving tours to guests to highlight existing and new businesses. He also volunteered as a tour guide at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve. Phillip was a member of the Lions’ Club and met his friends in Tippers every Tuesday morning to discuss local events. Ponca City rewarded his devotion by providing an outstanding place for his sons to grow up.

Phillip is survived by wife Sherry (Melquist) Winslow of Ponca City, son Matt and Karen (Deslattes) Winslow of Copenhagen, Denmark, their children Hudson of Menlo Park, California and daughter Cora of Melbourne, Australia, son Paul and Lisa (Greene) Winslow of The Woodlands, Texas, their children Luke and Kate, stepdaughter Pam (Melquist) Bradshaw and her husband Mark and their son Jackson of Edmond, Oklahoma, and brother David and sister-inlaw Kathy (Darlow) Winslow of Tulsa, Oklahoma and their children and grandchildren in Tulsa.

Paid Obituary