Chaplain Philip "Tony" Symonds' Obituary
Tony was born Philip Anthony Wilfred Symonds, November 11, 1942, in Reading, England. The son of Philip and Marjorie Symonds, he and his younger sister Margaret grew up in a Christian home, and Tony gave his life to Jesus Christ at the age of twelve.
At age 17, Tony heard God’s call to ministry. Finishing a degree in engineering, he then pursued studies at Birmingham Bible Institute. Near the end of that course, the Lord led him into missionary work in Jamaica, where he taught school and ministered in many ways for eleven years. Tony met and married Carol Lynn Brown in Buff Bay, Jamaica, September 26, 1971.
As the Lord closed doors on further ministry in Jamaica, He opened doors for Tony and Lynn to move to St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1974. Tony taught at St. Petersburg Christian School for two years, and then served a year as associate pastor at Suncoast Cathedral, working specifically with the youth.
In 1977, the Lord called Tony to pastor Tavares Assembly of God church. While pastoring, he also founded Tavares Christian School. A close family connection characterized TCS, and that love still lingers among former TCS-ers to this day.
Tony earned his master’s degree from the Assemblies of God Graduate School in 1982 and later his license as a Christian marriage and family therapist. He loved both pastoring and counseling. In 1999 Tony became chaplain and program director at the Lake County Jail, a position he also loved until the Lord called him home, March 15, 2014.
Surviving Tony are his wife Lynn, their oldest son Philip, and Philip’s wife Gabriela; middle child Andrew; and daughter Christina, whose children Alexis and Elijah are the delights of Tony’s and Lynn’s lives. He is also survived by his niece Sarah Morrison and nephew Joshua Pineo.
Through his years as a teacher, pastor, counselor, and chaplain, Tony also leaves behind a legacy in spiritual children. People of many ages could echo the words of one friend who said, “I knew I could call Tony at any time of day or night, and he would listen to me and give me wise counsel. I didn’t always like the advice, but I always took it, because I knew he was right!”
Tony possessed a natural gift for music. He played guitar and bass guitar well, and could figure out how to play almost any other instrument, After his years in Jamaica, reggae always remained his favorite music.; a little Bob Marley would get his toes tapping even when his body weakened.
He also enjoyed playing and coaching soccer. The World Cup games were always taped, watched, and rewatched with much enthusiasm. Another special interest of Tony’s was using his telescope to observe the night sky. He could get up at any time of night to watch a launch or the space station pass by. He had a sense of respect and wonder of God’s amazing creation. He had a quick, unique sense of humor, and knew at least a little about almost everything; he could come up with a plausible answer to any question about life, science, why something worked the way it did, or the mysteries of God’s word. As a trained engineer, he could fix or improvise almost anything that needed attention. He enjoyed planting pumpkins, peppers—the hotter, the better—and pineapples. He was a creative cook, and his sweet and sour pork is the stuff of family legend.
Above all, Tony loved Jesus, the living Word of God. He loved preaching and teaching, planting the seed of God’s Word, and watching new life of understanding spring forth in his listeners.
The last entry in Tony’s notebook celebrated the dawn of the new year 2014 with the highlighted, prophetic words, “The best is yet to come!”
What’s your fondest memory of Philip?
What’s a lesson you learned from Philip?
Share a story where Philip's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Philip you’ll never forget.
How did Philip make you smile?
