Phillip K. Tompkins

In Loving Memory of Dr. Phillip K. Tompkins 

October 8, 1933 – April 24, 2024

Phillip K. Tompkins, 90, was born on October 8, 1933 in Erie, Kansas to Phyllis Knox (Tompkins) and Floyd Orestes Tompkins. He passed away at home surrounded by his wife and children in Lakewood, Colorado on April 24, 2024.

Phil was well known in the field of communication and beyond due to his long and prolific careers as a professor, researcher, literary critic, author, and volunteer. After Phil graduated from Wichita North High School he went on to study at the University of Northern Colorado with dual scholarships in debate and wrestling and received his master’s in communication from the University of Nebraska.  After achieving his Ph.D. in organizational communication from Purdue University in 1962, Tompkins was a consultant to NASA working under the legendary Wernher von Braun during the development of the Saturn V (the “moon rocket”). In 1966, after extensive research, he published an article in Esquire magazine entitled ““In Cold Fact”” in response to Truman Capote’s assertion that his book In Cold Blood was the first non-fiction novel.  Throughout his career, Tompkins conducted research on managing risk and complexity in organizations and the use of open communication and teamwork. 

He served as professor at Wayne State University, Kent State University, the University at Albany, Purdue University, and the University of Colorado, Boulder, where he retired as Professor Emeritus of Communication and Comparative Literature in 1998. After retirement, he came to be known as the “The Original Dr. Phil,” continued to publish books, and was committed to his volunteer work at the St Francis Center for 24 years serving people of Denver who are experiencing homelessness. He has published many papers, articles, and eight books.

Phil met Elaine VandenBout in 1968, when he was hired at Kent State University where she was also teaching. They witnessed the killings at Kent State and went on to write a book about the tragic response to the protests, Communication Crisis at Kent State, before they married in 1971. They enjoyed 52 years of marriage and Phil dedicated his book, Organizational Communication Imperatives: Lessons of the Space Program, to her with the words “To Elaine without whom nothing”. 

Phil is survived by his wife, Elaine, and his four children: Todd, Kari (Clay) Lockett, Terrence (Lisa), and Emily (Tofer) Lewis; His four grandchildren: Vanessa (James) Brossart, Taylor (Kathryn) Page, Logan, and Bridget; and his four great grandchildren: Timothy, Hugh, and Emma Brossart, and Josefine Page. 

He was preceded in death by his parents as well as his sisters Cora Anderson and Floydene Lippoldt as well as his brother Tom. 

Services will be held at Trinity United Methodist Church on Saturday, June 1 at 10am. His ashes will be spread in the Adirondack mountains of upstate New York where he, Elaine, and family spent some of their favorite times. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Phil’s honor to the Saint Francis Center of Denver because of his dedication to their cause.