SUTTERFIELD FINANCIAL FEATURE
The Final Days of Frank A Look Back at the Final Month of Bartlesville’s Icon by Mike Wilt
Waite Phillips didn’t like the way his older brother looked. A wealthy oil man himself, Waite traveled from his home in Beverly Hills to spend some time with Frank Phillips, cofounder of Phillips Petroleum Company. In August of 1950, Frank was again escaping the searing Oklahoma heat at the elegant Traymore Hotel along Atlantic City’s Boardwalk. However, the cool breezes along the New Jersey shore didn’t
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seem to affect Frank’s condition. Waite found Frank weak, not himself. On Sunday, August 20, Frank was admitted to Atlantic City Hospital with a severe gallbladder attack. Three days later on August 23, the day he was scheduled to travel back home, Frank Phillips passed away at 1:20 p.m. He was 76 years old.
