Las Vegas shooting victim: John Phippen, Santa Clarita, California
John Phippen, a 56-year-old father of six from Santa Clarita, California, was among those killed in the Route 91 Harvest festival shooting, his son, Travis Phippen, confirmed Wednesday.
The two were attending the concert together. Travis Phippen was shot in the arm during the Sunday night attack that killed 58 and wounded more than 520.
A GoFundMe page was created for the Phippen family by longtime neighbors and friends, Leah and Paul Nagyivanyi.
The Nagyivanyi’s wanted to join Phippen and his son at the concert, but it was sold out. Leah Nagyivanyi choked back tears during a Wednesday phone call, speculating over whether her husband could have helped.
“I’m grateful for my kids, but it’s unfortunate,” she said.
On the GoFundMe page, Leah Nagyivanyi wrote: “If you didn’t know John you surely missed out. He was a simple man who enjoyed the simple things in life and having fun doing them.”
She continued: “He had your back from the moment he met you and by having your back that could mean, having a cold beer in your hand when yours was empty or if you needed help with your car or in our case, your sandrail, your house or you just needed to chill.”
Contact Jessie Bekker at jbekker@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4563. Follow @jessiebekks on Twitter.
