Phillip Alvarez, 37, a Chicago firefighter who friends and family said lived life simply and with grace, died Saturday, Sept. 15, after being shot while resisting a robbery on the South Side. For days he had been bothered by the deaths of the firefighters in New York City, said his mother, Dolores. “Phil, like the rest of us, would have wanted to go to New York and lend a hand,” said Leroy Hearon, a friend and co-worker from Engine Co. 127 at Midway Airport. A South Side native, Mr. Alvarez was a quiet man with a passion for sports. “Any sports,” his mother said, from Cubs baseball–he was known to trade shifts with fellow firefighters to make it to a game–to bowling or watching wrestling. He was just as passionate about his work. “He was always willing to lend a hand, whether the situation was a fire or an ambulance assist,” Hearon said. “He never shirked his duty.” In addition to his mother, Mr. Alvarez is survived by his father, Jeno; a brother, Michael; and two grandparents, John and Lottie Sinke. Mass will be said at 10:30 a.m. in Queen of the Universe Catholic Church, 7114 S. Hamlin Ave., Chicago.
