Retired Covenant pastor Philip M. Axelson passed away in Warren, Rhode Island, on December 27, 2023. He was 85.
Philip Martin Axelson was born on March 19, 1938, to parents Amsden and Pearl Axelson in Wenatchee, Washington. He was raised alongside his sister, Myrna, in Bremerton, Washington, and eventually graduated from Bremerton East High School. Upon his graduation he enrolled in the University of Washington where he studied chemical engineering before eventually transferring to Seattle Pacific College, where he earned a bachelor of arts in psychology. During his time there, he spent his summer breaks working at fisheries in southeastern Alaska, and upon his return, would often woo his sister’s roommate, Jonna Christman, with his nice car and rugged Alaskan tales. Philip and Jonna were married on July 29, 1961, in Spokane, Washington.
They lived a full, adventurous, faith-filled life together.
After their wedding, Phil and Jonna moved to Pasadena, California, to pursue a call to ministry, working in youth ministry at Pasadena Covenant Church. Phil earned a master of divinity from
Fuller Theological Seminary in 1963. Jonna gave birth to their first child, Camila, on his graduation day. He was ordained to word and sacrament by the Evangelical Covenant Church in 1968.
Phil served in a variety of pastoral roles in churches across the United States, including at First Covenant Church of Sacramento, California; First Presbyterian Church in Bremerton; First Covenant Church of Seattle; Yakima Covenant Church in Yakima, Washington; Maranatha Covenant Church in St. Peters, Missouri; and Riverside Covenant Church in Riverside, Rhode Island. At that last stop, Phil and Jonna found a strong sense of church family, and their adult children settled in the surrounding area.
Phil was loved by the congregations he served and was known for the way he brought local churches and pastors together. He often said that he and Jonna were a great package, crediting his wife’s musical talents for amplifying their ministry at the churches they served. Phil, too, had a knack for music. Not only did he play the trombone, but his bellowing singing voice could be heard from any pew in the church.
Phil also served on several Covenant regional and national boards, and especially enjoyed his years on the Evangelism and Prayer Commission, singing with the Ministers’ Chorus there. He also served in various roles at summer Bible camps including Alpine, Mission Springs, Lily Del Dune, Covenant Beach, and Pilgrim Pines.
Phil and Jonna were great travelers, road-tripping all over North America and traveling internationally to Israel and across Europe. Phil loved to hike, being sure he was always the first to the top of the mountain, and was a great fisherman, later passing down his skill to his eldest grandson.
In 1994, Phil and Jonna set out on a final adventure, moving to serve in his final pastoral role at First Covenant Church of Anchorage, Alaska, and also helping to plant Community Covenant Church in Eagle River. After ten years in Alaska, Phil retired, and he and Jonna returned to the home they’d built years earlier on Hundred Acre Cove in Barrington, Rhode Island. During his retirement, he volunteered not only at Riverside Covenant, but as an usher at the Providence Performing Arts Center, telling animated stories reflecting on his adventurous years in Alaska and spending Tuesday evenings with his grandchildren. In 2018, they moved once more to the Bagy Wrinkle Cove community in Warren, Rhode Island, where Phil often joked they belonged since they’d become “baggy and wrinkled.”
Phil was a devoted husband, brother, father, and “Papa Phil,” impacting many lives, especially those closest to him. He will be remembered for his legacy of cross-country ministry, his repertoire of stories (often made more exciting by his tendency to exaggerate), his big appetite, his taglines like “amen, amen and amen,” and his love for carrot cake, Starbucks chai lattes, oatmeal,
and cherry Chapstick. Most of all, family and friends will remember Phil’s unwavering faith in Jesus Christ, his Lord and Savior.
Phil is survived by his wife, Jonna; his children, Camila DiMarco of Barrington, Rhode Island; David of Riverside, Rhode Island; and Peter (Gretchen) of Marstons Mills, Massachusetts; six grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at the Riverside Covenant Church on March 23, 2024, at 11:00 am. Contributions may be sent to the Riverside Covenant Church, or Alaska Christian College. Notes of remembrance can be made here.
Peace to his memory.
