Philip L. Ober, a farmer and cattleman, died Monday at his Jarrettsville home of a brain tumor. He was 62.
The son of Frank B. Ober Jr., a farmer, and Alice Parker Ober, an educator, Philip Livingston Ober was born in Baltimore and raised at Hope Hollow Farm in Monkton, his family's farm.
He attended St. Paul's School and graduated in 1971 from John Carroll High School, where he played varsity football.
Mr. Ober attended the Delaware Valley School of Agriculture in Doylestown, Pa., and earned his bachelor's degree in 1974 from the University of Maryland School of Agriculture.
He attended the Graham School for Cattleman in Garnett, Kan., before serving in the Navy in the 1970s.
After being discharged in the late 1970s, he joined his father as co-owner and operator of Hope Hollow Farm, where he raised and milked registered Holstein cattle.
From 1986 to 2005, he worked for Harford County as an environmental inspector, first as a soil conservationist for the Harford Soil Conservation District, where he acted as an intermediary between farmers and construction employees and government agencies. He later was an erosion and sediment control inspector for the county.
Mr. Ober enjoyed conducting workshops for Harford County middle schoolers about farming and soil conservation.
He enjoyed working on his John Deere tractors and mowing the surrounding fields. He also liked to restore antique tractors and trucks, especially his 1931 Ford Model A fire engine.
Mr. Ober was 44 when he was diagnosed with the tumor that claimed his life.
"He bore it courageously," said his sister, Laurie Ober Curtis of Pennington, N.J. "He often spoke of the miracles his long-term illness brought about. It drew family and friends from far and near close, and he was enormously grateful for the love, the strength and support he was given."
Mr. Ober was a communicant of St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church, 13305 Long Green Pike, Hydes, where the family will receive visitors from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday, at which time a Mass of Christian burial will be offered.
In addition to his sister, Mr. Ober is survived by his wife of 40 years, the former Anne Hickey, a registered nurse; a son, Army Maj. Robert Livingston Ober of Manhattan, Kan.; two daughters, Maureen Ober Renner of Homeland and Katherine Ober Kittredge of Charleston, S.C.; a brother, David Graham Ober of Palm Beach; his mother, Alice Parker Ober of Monkton; and five grandchildren.