[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 50 (Thursday, March 21, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2508-S2509]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         Remembering Phil Howe

  Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, today, I rise to honor the life and mourn 
the loss, the passing, of a fellow Kansan, Phil Howe.
  Mr. Howe lived most of his life in Manhattan, KS, and he loved his 
hometown. He was an active member of the community, a local 
businessowner, and a proud Kansas State University Wildcat.
  The only place he may have loved more than Manhattan was his family's 
farm. During his younger years, Phil spent time at that farm. The farm 
was near Chapman and Solomon, where he enjoyed farming and fishing.

[[Page S2509]]

  Phil attended Sacred Heart Academy and graduated in 1950. Afterward, 
he attended Kansas State University and completed a degree in business 
administration. Phil was also an active member of Beta Theta Pi 
Fraternity.
  After graduating from Kansas State University, Phil married his wife, 
Margaret, and they were married for 57 years, until Margaret's passing 
10 years ago.
  Phil's career started at the Union National Bank, where he worked as 
a consumer loan officer. With years of banking experience, Phil decided 
to charter his own bank, to go out on his own, and, in 1969, the Kansas 
State Bank was opened. It was chartered and opened in a trailer home 
and now has grown to a nearly $1 billion enterprise.
  His interests in business did not stop with banking. Phil was elected 
to serve as president of the Griffith Oil Company and founded both 
Master Medical Company and Baystone Financial Group.
  Years later, Phil served on the board of St. Mary's Hospital. He was 
an active member of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce and sat on the 
dean's business advisory council for Kansas State University.
  Phil established foundations to help people across the Manhattan 
community and across our State of Kansas. Through the Greater Manhattan 
Community Foundation and the foundation's Youth Empowerment for Success 
Fund, he helped impact many, many lives, especially young people.
  I would see Phil at Manhattan Rotary Club meetings. And I know I 
speak for many when I say Phil will be greatly and sadly missed.
  Robba and I are praying for his family, his friends, and loved ones 
during this time. Robba attended the services this morning at Seven 
Dolors Catholic Church in Manhattan.
  Mr. Howe was a respected businessman and community leader, the kind 
of person every community in Kansas wishes there were just more like 
him. More importantly, Phil was a kind and caring man of character and 
of faith--just what our State, our Nation, and world so desperately 
need today.
  I offer these remarks with the greatest amount of respect and 
gratitude for a life well lived.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.