Phil Waggoner

Philip Holman Waggoner, 84, died Monday, Sept. 11, 2023, at Palouse Hills Assisted Living in Moscow, after a fall. Phil had declining dementia the last years and required assistance.

Phil “Wag” grew up in Powell, Wyo. He was in the U.S. Army for four years. He graduated from Chadron State College, Chadron, Neb., with a master’s degree in Human Services. Following his own start to sobriety in 1973, Phil spent the rest of his career assisting those addicted to alcohol and other drugs. He was a counselor in Alliance, Neb., and again in Gillette, Wyo. He became a beloved and respected member of the community in Lewiston, where he established Riverside Recovery in the early 1990s. If one didn’t find him at Riverside directing the program, he could usually be found at the golf course. He was equally passionate about helping himself and others maintain sobriety and his golf game. Phil was preceded in death by his mother, Frances Waggoner, and father, Pee Wee Waggoner, and by his brother, George Waggoner. He is survived by his wife, Dana Boyd and previous wife and mother of his children, Bobbi, and two sisters, Sheila Sales of Sheridan, Wyo., and Sheryl Christensen-Kin of Fort Collins, Colo., daughter Shaylene Waggoner-Osborne (Craig) of Utah, and son, Shad Waggoner (Shandra) of Connecticut. He has seven grandchildren: Sheridan, Brody, Kennedy, Kole, Jack, Olivia and Night, and three great-granddaughters, Brinley, Aspen and Nevaeh.

At time of death, Phil had resided at Palouse Hills Assisted Living for five months. The previous two years Phil was at Barrington’s Place Memory Care Facility in Utah, next to his daughter Shaylene’s home. As a BSN nurse who worked at the care unit, his daughter was able to closely monitor his care. In those years, his health, mobility and condition improved so that he was able to enjoy frequent visits with his children and grandchildren and wife. He enjoyed attending church, car shows, dog-walking and playing lots of card games. His facility even made him a putting green. He enjoyed being a caretaker of his fellow residents, trying to help them with their needs.

He spent the last few holidays as a welcome guest at Shaylene and Craig’s neighbors’, enjoying the food, laughs and love. During son Shad’s frequent visits, Phil’s spunky personality shined through in lively conversations.

It is with joy that the family of Phil Waggoner knows today he now knows who he is and is free of illness. His family is also grateful to the many loyal friends that Phil/”Wag” loved. It is the hope of his family that anyone that may read this will honor and remember him for the giving person he was, and acknowledge the many attributes he brought to the Lewiston community. Phil’s life was spent improving those others’ lives that he touched. Phil’s family knows he would want you to celebrate his life.