Philip N. Cline

Philip N. Cline was born July 23, 1934, in Alva, Oklahoma, the fourth of ten children born to Kenneth and Avis Cline. When Phil was two in 1935, Kenneth and Avis loaded their three children and meager belongings into a 1927 Chevrolet van pulling a homemade trailer made up of a Model T chassis, a Studebaker box, and a WWI army tent, and  headed to California. The wagon had a space for a goat on the back to feed baby Phil. After being misguided into the mountains, their truck broke down near Cripple Creek, Colorado. After getting it repaired, they ran out of money in Buena Vista, Colorado. They thought it was the most beautiful place they had ever seen, so when a rancher offered Kenneth a job and a one-room cabin for his family, they jumped at the opportunity. For years, the family moved around Chaffee County and the San Luis Valley working for various farmers and ranchers and living in houses they provided. Phil and his siblings helped support the family and all the children went to school in various one-room schoolhouses in the region. At times, the Cline children were the only students in the school.

When Philip was nineteen, he entered the Navy, where he served in San Diego, Hawaii, and Japan. When he returned home, he worked various jobs including ranching and wood cutting before beginning his mining career at Climax and various other mines.

Philip married Violet Bellew on May 9, 1959. They had three children in their 59 years and 9.5 months of marriage before her death in 2019. During those years, the family moved many times following mining jobs, living in Victor, Buena Vista, Rifle, and Montrose. They finally settled in Canon City in 1969 and purchased their house on Pike Avenue in 1971. After his mining career, Phil worked for various companies in Canon City including Portec, Western Forge, and Dye Construction. After retiring, he continued doing odd jobs including tree trimming and janitorial as well as making wood crafts and attending craft fairs with his wife Vi. He made hundreds of bird houses, lighthouses, and wishing wells that are still enjoyed by family, friends, and craft fair customers.

Phil was a very physically strong man, having completed the Atlas body building training. He was proud of his ability to work hard, and one of his favorite pastimes was digging. He dug out the basement of their home in Canon City by the bucket, and he also hand dug the septic system for the property they developed in Penrose. He was known for his jokes and stories and his love and aptitude for playing cards.

In his later years when he could no longer do physical work, he enjoyed counting the moves it took him to solve a Rubik’s cube. He would often solve it one hundred times so he could compute an average. He also completed multi-digit multiplication problems with paper and pencil and checked his accuracy by using long division. He decided to capture some of his life stories through poetry, which culminated in a book of published poetry he has shared with many.

Philip passed away in his sleep on March 6, 2025, at the age of ninety. He is survived by his sister, June Liebert; brothers, Darrell, Lendel (Sam) and wife Janice; and sisters-in-law, Marlene Cline and Linn Cline. He is also survived by his children, Susan and husband Eric Wendell, Debbie Huskey, and Philip and his wife Deb Cline. Philip was proud of his grandchildren. They included Jeremy Ryder, Wyatt James II, William James, Kevin Weise, Amanda and Henri Ndaya, Jasmine and Eben Thayer, Amber and Ryan Corbett, Kyle and Megan King, Bryan Weise, Kathy Wendell, Amanda and Jeremy West, Brandon and Annie Weise, Scott and Kelsi Huskey, Beth and Matt Quereau, Bonnie Huskey, Blake Huskey, and Drea Huskey, and numerous nephews and nieces. He also had seventeen great grandchildren including Curtis, Estes, Easten, Evangeline, Temperance, Aoife, Tobias, Wyatt III, Kaylynn, Seraphina, Aiden, Camden, Greyson, Harlow, Jessie, Douglas, and Kyler.

Philip was preceded in death by his parents; his sisters, Naomi (died in infancy), Virgiline and Mildred; his brothers, Jim, Kenny, and Leonard (Dusty); his sisters-in-law, Judy Cline, Dora Wahlborg, Mary Knight, Carol Gray, and Betty Phillips; his brothers-in-law, Clarence Bellew and Eugene Bellew, Grandson Joseph Ryder; and son-in-law, Steven Huskey.

Visitation for Mr. Cline will be held at 9:00 AM on Friday, March 14, 2025 with services following at 10AM at Holt Chapel of the Garden: 806 Macon Ave. Canon City. Burial will follow at Mountain Vale Memorial Gardens. Donations may be made to Hillsdale College at https://www.hillsdale.edu.

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