Obituary: Philip Marks Jr., 1938 - 2026

When Philip Marks Jr. was a boy, he’d walk the family cows to school so they could graze in the surrounding fields. With classes over for the day, he’d walk the cows back to the family farm on Williams Street to milk them. It was a time when his father still hitched a horse to a plow. “My Dad owned the last pair of working horses on the island,” he recalled to Nantucket Magazine in 2005. Life on the farm instilled in the young Marks a strong work ethic that he would later impart to his own family.

One day, however, Philip apparently misbehaved, as young boys will, and had to stay after school. The cows got back late to the barn and missed their afternoon milking. The next day, his father had a meeting at school. “He’s yours for the school day,” the elder Marks informed the principal, “but after school he’s mine.” The school schedule for young Philip — and cows — never wavered after that.

In summer, when chores were done, he took his energies to the waterfront, swimming with his younger brother Bob and friends out to the incoming ferries and diving for the coins the approaching visitors tossed their way from the upper deck. “We’d all get in the water and people would throw a coin and we’d try to catch it in our hands. Once it hit the mud, it was gone.” On a good day, he’d catch between five and seven dollars worth of coins. “We spent it all on hot dogs. We’d work up such an appetite.”

Life on the island in the late ’40s and early ’50s was simpler, and harder, and, in many ways, freer. Phil Marks experienced it all. He grew up in an era when Nantucket, and Nantucketers, were self-sufficient by necessity, and saw the island transition from making its own gas and electricity to the installation of electric cables from the mainland and the importation of propane fuel.

Mr. Marks passed away on July 9 at home in the loving company of his sons after a hard and courageous battle with cancer.

A life-long Nantucketer with deep island roots, Philip Marks Jr. was born on the island on November 5, 1938 to Myra (Macy) Marks and Philip Marks Sr., the third of six children. The surrounding ocean provided both sustenance and recreation for the young Marks, and he quickly became a consummate boatman, fisherman and scalloper; all of which remained steadfast avocations and vocations throughout his life. He was also a master gardener, who loved to share the fruits of his harvests with family and friends. He was a skilled builder and craftsman. He was the essence of Nantucket.

A graduate of the Nantucket High School Class of 1958, Phil was a talented athlete who starred with his brother Bob on the basketball team, and suited up in leather helmet for the football team. He had a life-long enthusiasm for sports, was an ardent skier and, later, a passionate golfer.

He met the love of his life, Carol Ann Pike, on the steps of the Pacific National Bank when she was here for the summer in the late 1950s. They were married on May 6, 1961, and had three sons: Phillip III, Christopher, and Patrick.

Upon graduation from high school, Phil proudly served as an engineer in the United States Marine Corps until 1963. Once home from the service, Phil worked for the Steamship Authority and Elmore Taylor before settling into his life’s career as lineman (and later foreman) at Nantucket Gas and Electric, where his father worked (and where his three sons would also gain employment). And like his father, Phil always had another job: as landscaper, or scalloper, or whatever needed being done. “I remember helping him clean the Nantucket Electric Company office when it was downtown,” his son, Philip Marks III recalls. No matter his obligations, Philip Jr. always sat down to nightly dinner with his family.

The Marks’ home on Cliff Road brimmed with activity, from pickup basketball games to Saturday suppers or Sunday dinners with extended family. This tradition carried on in later years with the extended Marks family, which now included grandchildren, enjoying breakfast every Sunday at the Fog Island Café. Devout Roman Catholics, Phil and Carol were deeply involved parishioners at St. Mary’s, Our Lady of the Isle, with Phil being a longstanding member of the Knights of Columbus.

He loved his family unequivocally and family was central to his being. He was kind, caring, and compassionate. He was a life-long learner and a great teacher, especially when it involved either scalloping or golfing. Phil continued to actively scallop through last year.

For years, Phil was a fixture at Whaler football games, manning the first down chains as part of the line crew, and was on the sidelines as all three of his sons played on Super Bowl teams.

Upon his retirement after 34 years from the Nantucket Electric Company, Philip Marks Jr. enjoyed traveling with Carol, playing golf, and being in the company of his children and grandchildren.

He was predeceased in 2024 by his wife, Carol; by his parents; by his sister, Dolores; and his brother, Frank. He is survived by his sisters: Patricia Giles; and Louise Hourihan (William); and by his brother, Robert. He is also survived by his sons and their spouses: Kim, Kate, and Joy; and by his grandchildren: Mei Marks; Meghan Simmons; Brianne Marks Rosano; Maeve Marks; Kaelan Marks; Julia Marks; and by his great-grandson Joseph Christopher Rosano.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Friday, July 24, at 10 a.m. at St. Mary’s, Our Lady of the Isle, followed by a graveside service at St. Mary’s Cemetery.