Dr. Allan Lewis Phillips

Dr. Allan Lewis Phillips, born December 31, 1936, in Wheatland Township, Michigan, passed away on September 20, 2026, in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. 

He was the beloved son of Elmer Gordon Phillips and Ethel Mae Bryce. 

Allan carried the strength and steadiness of his Michigan roots throughout his life. He was a devoted husband and father, remembered for his quiet care and the values he passed on to his family. Allan built a distinguished career as an engineer, educator, researcher and international consultant. He earned a Ph.D. in engineering from the University of California, Davis, and master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Michigan State University. 

Earlier in his career, he worked at Boeing and taught at the University of Hawaii for more than a decade. He spent 30 years at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez in the Departments of Agricultural Engineering and General Engineering, including 10 years as Director of Agricultural Engineering and one year as Associate Director of General Engineering. His teaching, research, and extension work included coffee and sugarcane harvest mechanization, biofuels, micro-irrigation, alternative energy, water management, and post-harvest crop protection. 

His career took him around the world, including work with the United Nations in Chile, the Philippines and Kenya, and consulting projects in Ecuador, Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Thailand, Jamaica, and El Salvador. He authored or co-authored more than 40 technical publications and was named a Distinguished Professor by RUM and by the Mayagüez Chapter of the College of Engineers and Surveyors of Puerto Rico. After retiring, Allan split his time between Puerto Rico and his hay farm in Michigan, spending meaningful years close to the rural roots that shaped him. 

He is survived by his devoted wife, Carmen; his children, Sandra, Geoffrey, Karen, Jennifer, and Dennis; his grandchildren, Jasmine Lane, Stephanie Lane, Connor Lowden, Sabrina Shaver, Elliott Lowden, and Garrett Shaver; and his brothers, Roger and Gerald and their families. 

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, October 10, 2026, at Martell Funeral Home in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico at 10 a.m.  

Donations may be made in his honor to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, or Shriners Children’s.