Philip Incao
February 14, 1941–February 28, 2022 Rev. James Hindes’ eulogy, given March 3, 2022
Philip Frank Incao was born in Brooklyn, New York, on February 14, 1941. His older sister, Virginia, had been waiting over five years for her brother to arrive. The two grew up in a family Philip described as warm and loving. His grandfather had come from Sicily through Ellis Island before the turn of the century. Philip’s father, born in 1912, had been raised with many “old country” ways. He was concerned that his children be real Americans and use the opportunities available to them. Philip recalled his first six years of life as permeated by a sense of the war going on in Europe at the time. Both parents had rebelled against the Catholic Church and were referred to as “free thinkers” in those days. Evidence of their complete freedom from religion gave Philip a shock when he was seven years old and asked his mother, “Mom, will I die one day?” Her answer was “Yes, of course,” He replied, “What then?” Her answer to that question became the inspiration for his life work. “Nothing, you’re dead!” He found her response to that question unsatisfactory, actually very disturbing. Something in his soul bristled at the idea. This moment with his mother evolved into a resolve to study science, attend medical school, and discover for himself answers to the big questions. The family moved to the small town of Valley Stream on Long Island. At Valley Stream High School, he became an academically outstanding student, excelled at wrestling, played the saxophone, drove a large Ford Thunderbird and, as he recalled, ate beef steak every Friday night. He graduated as salutatorian, the student who ranked second in the class of 1959. That fall, he enrolled in Wesleyan University as a biology major. Always a diligent student he completed his degree in three years while also spending two summers learning Italian in Perugia, Italy. Perhaps the real reason for those study abroad years revealed itself during his second trip in 1962. The journey home required a cruise from Italy to Rotterdam, Holland, where his ship then set sail for the U.S. On that first leg of the trip, a young Dutch woman caught his attention. 50 •
being human
They talked a great deal, discussing life and its meaning, but most importantly, they sensed a life partner without realizing it. Those onboard conversations were followed by six years of letter writing. Philip graduated from Wesleyan at 21 and went to Albert Einstein Medical School in the Bronx, NY. He thought every new class he started “might have the answer to one of life’s riddles.” But he was “severely disillusioned.” At 25, he graduated with an M.D. in 1966 and did his residency in Berkeley, California. Later that year, Annemarie came to America, and they were married soon after that. Philip also joined the United States Navy Submarine Medical Program, which involved spending two months underwater. He transferred to Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California and the young couple were able to live in Berkeley. Philip then commuted to Vallejo for his 8-hour shift for the Navy. Around this time, Annemarie became very ill. Fortunately, the world’s best treatment center for Hodgkin’s disease at Stanford University was just 50 miles away. She recovered completely, and the couple could get on with their lives. Living in Berkeley, Philip, always a voracious reader, discovered the works of Owen Barfield, which led him directly to Rudolf Steiner. This was the most significant turning point in his life. He found concepts for feelings he’d had since he was a little boy. The real foundation of the world was not tiny particles but a spiritual world that stood behind it and could be known, not merely felt. The mechanistic approach to medicine was no basis for understanding the human body, health, and the essence of life. When his time as a Navy physician was over, they moved back East; Philip worked for the Yale University student health service until 1970. He preferred working a 40 hour week, which left him free for family and reading Steiner. His interest in anthroposophy then led him to Emerson College in England in 1970. There he was able to experience how the human mind could grasp spiritual truth with clarity. No subject was off-limits. He found a path that gave direction to his most profound questions. It was one of the happiest times of his life. Late that year, he became a father with the birth of his eldest son, Quintin. The Lukas Klinik, an anthroposophical medical cen-