Philip Dean Buchanan

Philip Dean Buchanan was born on Dec. 26, 1943 in the lovely town of Sylva in the North Carolina mountains to Thomas Dewey Buchanan and Inez Vesta Carver Buchanan.

He attended Western Carolina University for his undergraduate work. Here, his professors recognized his aptitude for science and encouraged him to continue studies for a higher degree.

Following graduation from Western Carolina University, he received his Masters Degree then his PhD at NC State University in 1970. At that time, Medical Genetics was a new field, and Phil became a true pioneer.

In 1968 he married Raleigh native, Elizabeth (Betsy) Anne Phifer. Phil accepted his first employment as the cytogeneticist at UNC-CH’s newly established Genetics Department. Over the next several years, the two spent three-month terms of post graduate work while Phil learned how to set up a laboratory and use new techniques in this exciting new field. He studied at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mass General Hospital in Boston, and OHSU School of Medicine in Portland, Oregon.

Phil was certified by the American Board of Medical Genetics in 1982, and became a Founding Fellow of the American College of Medical Genetics in 1993. He was a frequent presenter at various genetic conferences, often helping to plan the programs and arrange the panels. He has served as an adjunct professor at the George Washington School of Medicine, and often lectured by invitation across the US.

After thirteen years at UNC Memorial Hospital, Phil left and opened Genetics Associates, a private clinic providing counseling and laboratory services. It was the second of its kind in the country. Phil was a collaborator in his research interests - (in fact while at UNC, he was chastised one year by his department head for publishing too many papers.) His list of publications is prolific, and many became the source of new ideas and techniques. The name was changed to GeneCare Medical Genetics Center, but the services remained the same.

In 1999, Phil was awarded the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Distinguished Alumnus Award by NC State University. In 2017 he was conferred the Order of the Long Leaf Pine by Governor Roy Cooper.

For years Phil served on the boards of two companies that meant a great deal to him. Voices Together provides a unique music therapy model which empowers individuals to find their voice. Biofluidica is a liquid biopsy company which puts this technique within easier reach for precision medicine for multiple cancers and prenatal diagnostics testing.

Phil was a devoted family man. He was very close to his parents; and his sister, Shirley, has always been his best friend. Phil was always supportive of his wife’s passion for music and horses, attending concerts and horse shows throughout the years. Daughter Mary was cheered on in her horse show classes. Son Thomas was applauded for his many concert solos and class play appearances.

While presenting at a conference in Edinburgh in 1979, Phil was bitten by the travel bug, and he was off! Over the years, we pretty well covered the globe. At one point, he was reluctant to go on a safari. He said, “I’ve seen all those animals on TV.” But he was finally persuaded and enjoyed it so much, we made a second safari trip to watch the Great Migration crossing the Mara River.

Our travels included most of Europe, Great Britain, Scandinavia, Cairo, Morocco, Peru, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Russia, Slovenia and Dubrovnik, South Africa, Japan, and China. The culmination was a month long visit to Thailand in 2022 to meet our daughter (in law)’s family. There is a mountain of memories in those trips.

Phil is survived by his wife, Betsy; son, Thomas; Thomas’ wife, Amy, and children Makala and Jaiden; daughter, Mary; sister, Shirley Fouts; nephew Trent Fouts and his partner, Bryant ; cousins Doug Buchanan, Jan Buchanan, and Gloria Perdomo; niece, Lesley Curtis and her husband, Cord Whitaker and daughter, London.

A service for Philip will be held on Sunday, June 14 at 2:00PM at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 227 E. Rosemary Dr., Chapel Hill NC. 

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Cancer Society, Planned Parenthood, and the ALS Association. 

Phil spoke gently, loved much, laughed often, worked hard - and he was kind.