[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 26 (Thursday, February 16, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E219-E220]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO PHILIP GIBBS GROSE, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 16, 2012

  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a great 
public servant, author and dear friend. Philip Gibbs Grose lost his 
three year battle with leukemia on February 3, 2012. This South 
Carolina native contributed to his beloved State's history through his 
work in public policy and helped to preserve its history through his 
writings about the people who influenced the times in which he lived.
  Phil was born in Greenville, SC to Philip G. Grose, Sr., and Helen 
Layne Thompson Grose on April 5, 1938. He was raised in Charlotte and 
was a 1960 graduate of Washington and Lee University. He did graduate 
work at the University of South Carolina and received an honorary 
doctorate of letters from Francis Marion University.
  Phil began reporting sports results to the Charlotte Observer in 
junior high school and went on to write for the Observer during high 
school and college. He joined the staff fulltime after graduating from 
Washington and Lee, covering sports and general news. In 1963, after a 
year in New York as a writer for Broadcasting Magazine, Phil came to 
Columbia joining the sports staff of The State. He went on to become 
business editor and governmental affairs editor before leaving his 
newspaper career to enter the political arena.
  In 1968, Phil became a speechwriter for Governor Robert McNair. It 
was a tumultuous time in South Carolina at the height of the civil 
rights movement. Phil was greatly affected by the times, and, from his 
role behind the scenes, began pushing for South Carolina to break the 
bonds of its Jim Crow past. He continued those efforts when he joined 
the staff of Governor McNair's successor, John Carl West, as executive 
assistant for communications and race relations. One of the first 
actions he persuaded Governor West to take was to hire a young man 
named James Clyburn to serve as the first African American advisor to a 
sitting South Carolina governor. The year was 1971, and since that time 
Phil and I were fast friends.
  Phil went on to hold other positions in state government as deputy 
director of the Department of Social Services and executive director of 
the State Reorganization Commission. He was founder and executive 
director of the Executive Institute that provided leadership training 
for state government administrators, and I was one of his first 
recruits and graduated from the Executive Institute when I was serving 
as South Carolina Human Affairs Commissioner.
  After retiring from state government, Phil became a senior fellow at 
the University of South Carolina's Institute for Southern Studies, 
where he wrote about subjects he knew well and about which was very 
passionate--the governorships of Robert McNair and John West. ``South 
Carolina at the Brink: Robert McNair and the Politics of Civil Rights'' 
and ``Looking for Utopia: The Life and Times of John C. West'' offered 
great insights into these complicated men and the their contributions 
to South Carolina's rich history. He had recently begun work on a 
history of Francis

[[Page E220]]

Marion University in Florence, South Carolina. Phil and I had also been 
collaborating on my memoir for several years. He was a member of my 
inner circle who knew my experiences almost as well as I did myself. 
His personal insights and his talent for writing were invaluable in 
helping me with this project.
  He was also very active in the community. Phil served on advisory 
boards of the USC School of Arts and Science, the Journalism School and 
School of Nursing, and on the board of visitors of Columbia College. He 
was a president of Workshop Theater and worked in numerous Midlands 
United Way campaigns. He served four years as the South Carolina 
representative on the Southern Growth Policies Board and the Council on 
State Governments. He was a member of the Kosmos Club, a former board 
member of the Caesar's Head Community Center, a member of Shandon 
Presbyterian Church and a devotee of the humor of Robert Benchley.
  Phil was married for 47 years to Virginia ``Ginny'' Maxwell Grose. 
They had one daughter, Patricia, a son-in-law, John Williams, and two 
grandsons, Harrison and David Williams.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and my colleagues join me in celebrating 
the life of Phil G. Grose. He was an individual who helped shape 
history and preserve it for future generations. In addition, he was a 
great friend, not only to me, but to all who knew him. He will be 
sorely missed, but his contributions will remain forever.

                          ____________________