James Verdon Phillips Ii

James Verdon Phillips II 1977 - 2020 GLEN HEAD, N.Y. - James Verdon Phillips II passed away Friday, December 25, 2020 in Oakland, California of complications from acute appendicitis. He was 43. He is survived by his mother Moira Phillips, brother Patrick Phillips, both residents of Glen Cove, N.Y., and several cousins, aunts and uncles from the families of his father and mother. He was predeceased by his infant sister, Kathryn Leigh Phillips, and his father, Richard Jerome Phillips. On the same night the New York Yankees baseball team won another World Series title, James, also known as Jamie to his family and friends, was born on October 18, 1977 at Phelps Memorial Hospital in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y. and raised on Long Island in Glen Head. He graduated from North Shore High School where he played lacrosse and football. He continued to play lacrosse at Denison University in Granville, Ohio where he attended college for a year. Upon returning to New York after leaving college in Ohio, he began his business career as an entrepreneur with the launch of his food catering service and Soul Sausage businesses which he operated for several years in New York before relocating to Oakland, California. He continued the Soul Sausage business in Oakland and the greater Bay Area until his passing in December 2020. While living in Oakland he founded and operated a comedy showcase, "The Late Mic with Frosty Nuggs" at the Brix 581 club there. Under his stage name Frosty Nuggs, he performed regularly in his club and also helped many local aspiring comedians get their start in comedy by giving them opportunities for "Open Mic" nights while also nurturing their careers with scheduled appearances in the club. From this initial comedy venture he launched Soul Sausage TV, an online channel of live and pre-recorded features of artists, comedians, films and stimulating talk on social and cultural happenings. In addition to the comedy club, he launched other entrepreneurial ventures. Jamie was the founder and curator of an art gallery in Oakland which exhibited works from artists such as painters Skye Skagfeld of Vancouver, Louise Devlin-Scott and others throughout the Bay Area. He was also very interested in social causes and undertook projects to help others less fortunate. In November 2015 he organized a benefit, the "Find Me at the Club" comedy showcase to help homeless veterans. Mindful of his own family's experience, he founded The King's Wishbone Foundation, a nonprofit that provided support and resources for children born with spina bifida, a serious and often fatal birth defect. Jamie was also an accomplished musician playing drums and guitar in bands he started in New York and California. In addition to his own musical abilities and performances with his popular group, the Sidecar Bar Band, Jamie was an avid follower of the jam band, Phish, and traveled to many of their performances across North America and Europe. He was an adventurous traveler and took many trips throughout the United States and across Europe. His boundless curiosity lead him to explore new areas, cultures and people as well as to enrich his own life and education from the experiences and learnings he gained along these journeys. He is remembered by his family, fellow comedians and his many friends in New York and California as an always positive person, one who showed his care for others through the projects he launched to help the many people in his corner of the world. His inspiring creativity and devotion to making lives better is how he left this world and is his legacy.