Philip "Phil" Anderson Gehman, Sr. was a son of Ambler, Penn., and forever will be. Born in 1935, Phil grew up in a whitewashed Victorian on Lindenwold Avenue and would tell his family stories about raising chickens in the backyard and walking downtown unaccompanied at the age of three to visit his father, Samuel Clifford, at his office at Keasbey and Mattison. Phil learned to play piano at a young age and became so skilled that he soon began giving his neighbors lessons. When they couldn't pay him in cash, they would often pay him in kind–sometimes with artwork, including a portrait Phil so treasured that it gained a prominent presence in every one of his dwellings, including his longtime residence in Fort Washington, with his wife, Ann Cooley, and three children Phil, Jr., Jennifer Ann, and Elizabeth Bonynge.

Phil attended Ambler High School (Class of 1952) where he was voted "Best Musician," "Best Student," and "Most Likely to Succeed" by his senior class. He was known as "The Assembly Man" for his reliable presence as lead accompanist at all of the school's events. He was a versatile musician, and sometimes filled in for his father's band, the Samuel Clifford Gehman Orchestra, playing reliable hits from Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller at Ambler social events. His musical reputation often preceded him, and, when Lafayette College needed an accompanist for the school's choir, they awarded Phil with a music scholarship that helped him earn a degree in electrical engineering (Class of 1956). Phil would continue to accompany the choir at alumni events well into the 1990s.

Phil spent a year pursuing graduate studies at MIT in Boston but decided to return home to attend the Wharton School of Business at University of Pennsylvania, where he earned his MBA in 1959. Like many men of his time, Phil became a company man, entering RCA's New Graduate Study Program for Engineers and Scientists, and worked out of its Camden office for more than 40 years. He traveled around the world as a contract specialist, specializing in combat communications, creating scrapbooks of his travel upon his return and bringing his children coins from Thailand. He traveled often to Washington, DC, where he was responsible for a variety of defense projects, including the manufacturing of communications equipment for the first space shuttle in 1981.

While he never pursued music professionally, he was an active member in the Philadelphia area church community, becoming one of its most reliable principal, interim, and substitute organists and choir directors, culminating in a 68-year musical career. His longest tenures were at First Presbyterian Church of Ambler, St. Luke's United Methodist in Bryn Mawr, St. Thomas' Episcopal Church, Whitemarsh, and, finally, St. Anne's Episcopal Church in Abington. He played at too many weddings and funerals to count, and at Christmastime, would lead carolers around Fort Washington area neighborhoods, bringing holiday cheer to local families. He donated several of the organs he collected during his lifetime to area churches to fortify their music programs, and his concerts were often featured in Philadelphia Inquirer, Ambler Gazette, and Montgomery County Observer.

Phil was an annual subscriber to the Philadelphia Orchestra and Metropolitan Opera and was a longtime member for the Philadelphia chapter of the American Guild of Organists, for which he served as treasurer when they hosted AGO's annual convention. Later in life, he followed his ancestral roots to the Scottish Highlands and made pilgrimages to the homes and churches of some of his favorite musicians, Johann Sebastian Bach, Felix Mendelssohn, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Leipzig and Salzburg.

Phil is pre-deceased by his beloved wife, Ann. He is remembered by his three children and their spouses, James Branner and Darryl Nickless, along with his seven grandchildren: Keith Robert, Tyler James, Alex, John Carter, Natalie Ann, Jackson Thomas, and Samuel Patrick. He went to be with the Lord at his residence at Lafayette Hill on Wed., Sept. 2, 2026.

Funeral Service will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday, September 11, 2026, St. Thomas' Church Whitemarsh, where relatives and friends will be received from 10:30 AM until the time of the service. Interment will be private.

In lieu of flowers, donations are welcome for the music fund at St. Thomas' Church Whitemarsh, 7020 Camp Hill Road, Ft. Washington, PA 19034.

https://www.stthomaswhitemarsh.org/give-now

New Organist Fund, American Guild of Organists, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 1260, New York, NY 10115.

https://wp.agohq.org/contribute/ago-funds/fund-for-the-new-organist-print-form/