Obit Final

Philip M. Strelow, a giving friend and nonstop debater with a penchant for random humor, died after drowning in freezing water last Wednesday at the Milwaukee County Zoo. He was 25.

He had fallen over the railing at the penguin exhibit and died surrounded by the black-and-white birds. Officials claim the penguins are innocent.

Born in Appleton, Wis., on Dec. 29, 1979, to Michael and Susan Strelow, Philip displayed signs of intelligence at a young age. As he grew he was always busy in thought.

He participated in debate and band during his time at Appleton East High School and continued playing the trumpet in college at the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay.

In his classes professors knew they could count on him for a riveted class discussion. With his logistical skills he could muster strong emotions from pig-headed arguers and eventually lost count of the number of times he was called “Satan.”

Also during this time he quickly became a “reservist,” as he called it, in the UWGB Gamers’ Club, often running events at their annual Chaoticon.

He eventually graduated from UWGB in 2002 with a major in political science and, by this time, was forced to move back in with his parents for monetary reasons.

Philip found himself struggling to find a job after college due to the low demand for social science teachers. He worked at Barnes & Noble and as a substitute teacher in the Fox Cities, a job which he found both rewarding and demeaning. Being an avid reader, his job at the bookstore was a perfect match, as one could tell by the volumes of paperbacks on his bookshelves.

In fact he, himself, was an aspiring author, with dreams to one day write his novel “Kill for Bedlam,” a daring, futuristic take on altruism.

Even when relaxing in front of the television or playing Xbox he would listen to public radio. His constant thoughts were always easily transferred to words, though, and one could find oneself engrossed in a conversation with him for quite some time. An uninhibited public speaker, Philip could always capture an audience, whether they liked it or not.

After college, with most of his friends still in Green Bay, Philip found himself driving to the city at least once or twice a week to watch movies, go out to eat or play pen-and-paper role-playing games.

Probably one of Philip’s proudest moments was when he took a detour from his road trip to Arizona and defended the Earth from aliens for 30 minutes with only an aluminum baseball bat. Sitting in an empty field in Roswell, N.M., he was sure the heavenly visitors felt threatened to land. This trip also gave birth to his on-going love/hate relationship with Crunch ’n Munch.

A comic at heart, Philip had a joking attitude towards everything and would probably want people to laugh at his life in retrospect – even if they sometimes didn’t get him. “I’m HBO humor,” he said once, “and the rest of the world is ABC.”

In addition to his parents, he is survived by his brother, Eric, and a vast comic book collection.

The funeral service for Philip will begin at 12 p.m. on Thursday at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Appleton. Visitation will last until 1:30 p.m. Burial will commence afterwards in Appleton Highland Memorial Park.