By the family

Jan. 2, 2024: Philip Sherman, a longtime resident of Bronxville, N.Y., passed away on December 28, 2024.

Philip was born and raised in Flushing, N.Y. and Mount Lebanon, PA. A graduate of the University of Michigan’s honors program, he served on the staff of The Michigan Daily, including as City Editor.

Following his graduation from Michigan, he traveled to India on a Fulbright Scholarship where he taught English. It was in India that his lifelong passion for Asia was sparked.

Upon returning to the United States in 1964, he enrolled at the Harvard Business School.  Between his first and second years at Harvard, Philip met his wife Birgitta in Brussels, where they both had summer jobs.  They married in the spring of 1965, after which he joined First National City Bank (now known as Citibank), where he spent the first part of his 30-year career in Asia and Europe.

In 1978, Philip was awarded the Order of Diplomatic Service Merit “Sungnye” Medal by the Korean Government in recognition of his work to promote economic cooperation between the Republic of Korea and the United States. 

In 1996, he and Birgitta moved to Singapore where he served as CEO of ASIA Limited, a financial guaranty company. In 2006, he retired to Bronxville.

Philip and Birgitta divided their time between Kinderhook, N.Y. and Bronxville for the next fifteen years. During his retirement, Philip was heavily involved with charitable activities, including serving on the boards of the Episcopal Charities of New York and the Korea Society, as well as sitting on the advisory committee for the Salvation Army of Yonkers. 

In addition, Philip, with his sister Ann, endowed the Sherman Emerging Scholar Lecture Series at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, in honor of their parents.  Philip and Birgitta also endowed the Sherman Family Korea Emerging Scholar Lecture Award. 

Philip was an active parishioner of Christ Church Bronxville and Kinderhook Reformed Church. Throughout his lifetime, Philip was a passionate student of history, an avid reader, fond of art and music, and a world traveler.

Preceding him in death are his parents, Virgina Brillinger Sherman and Derrick Alson Sherman, and his sister, Ann Sherman-Skiba. He is survived by his beloved wife of 59 years, Birgitta, his four children, Colin (Patricia), Antonia, John (Sorca), and Peter (Annie), his seven grandchildren, Philip, Max, Henrik, Aodhán, Elsa, Lucy, Victoria, and one great-grandchild, Vivienne.  A funeral will be held at 10 a.m. on January 20, 2025 at Christ Church, 17 Sagamore Road, Bronxville, NY. 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Philip’s memory by check to  Episcopal Charities Gift in honor of Philip Sherman 1047 Amsterdam Avenue New York, NY 10025 or by credit card to Episcopal Charities BY CLICKING HERE