Phil developed most of his life long friendships on the sports field and valued the positive effects of being part of a team. When Phil was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 1997 and had to undergo a bone marrow transplant, the one thing that kept him going was the possibility of getting healthy enough to rejoin his buddies on the field hitting a home run or two and being able to play a round o
f golf. Phil was always happiest on the field or watching the game and he thought it was sad when children were forced to sit on the sidelines because of barriers beyond their control. Phil commented once "who helps the kids that cannot play because their Dad or Mom might be sick- or why can't kids have uniforms that aren't torn and faded?" Phil fought his cancer for a long time and often the only thing that could get him up was looking forward to a game or a tournament. Eventually Phil's heart and lungs could no longer work properly as the chemotherapy caused irreversible damage and Phil died on August 21, 2013. As Phil's friends and family we knew that his love of the game and enjoyment of being part of a team had to be passed on to the children in his community so the Phil Keating Memorial Fund was created in his memory. The Fund is dedicated to ensuring that all children have access to the positive aspects of sport that Phil knew so well.
