Attorney and former Brevard county judge Philip Fougerousse, age 78, passed peacefully on September 17 at 1:50pm at Cape Canaveral Hospital, Cocoa Beach, FL. He served Brevard county for over three decades practicing law, serving on the county bench, and mediating.
Phil was stricken with Polio at the age of seven, resulting in permanent partial paralysis in his legs and left arm. He was not expected to survive the fever and an iron lung had been stationed outside his room to provide the impending life support; but, he bucked the odds as the fever broke in the night.
This began a long and grueling battle to regain his mobility. Determined to fight his way out of the wheelchair, he struggled for over a year to achieve the ability to walk on crutches. When he first began walking with them, he explained to the doctor that he wanted the crutches turned so that the wing nuts faced the back because it would make the crutches “more aerodynamic.”
Placed in a school for children with disabilities, Phil excelled academically. He went on to receive a Doctorate of Jurisprudence from Indiana University’s Indianapolis Law School in 1974. After working as a corporate attorney for Railroadmen's Federal Savings & Loan, and later the Federal Savings & Loan in Birmingham Alabama, he moved to Brevard County, Florida, in the mid 1980s where he worked for real estate developer Charles Nelson. Afterwards, he set up a private law practice in Melbourne, FL., and was elected to the county bench, serving from 1995 to 2000, adding a fifth year as a senior judge traveling around the state.
He then landed with the Fraxedas Mediation firm in Orlando, FL., eventually returning to private practice in civil and family law until retiring at age 78.
Despite a long list of excruciatingly painful issues, including post polio syndrome, neuropathy, arthritis, sciatica, and much more, he remained optimistic and determined to live the best life he could. When asked why he never gives up, he replied, “I guess I just don’t know any better.”
His kind, wise, and indomitable spirit has been a light to countless souls along their treacherous journeys of life. Where others would easily give up on him, he refused to give up on others– or on himself. His family offers the following video tribute in his honor.
Phil was stricken with Polio at the age of seven, resulting in permanent partial paralysis in his legs and left arm. He was not expected to survive the fever and an iron lung had been stationed outside his room to provide the impending life support; but, he bucked the odds as the fever broke in the night.
This began a long and grueling battle to regain his mobility. Determined to fight his way out of the wheelchair, he struggled for over a year to achieve the ability to walk on crutches. When he first began walking with them, he explained to the doctor that he wanted the crutches turned so that the wing nuts faced the back because it would make the crutches “more aerodynamic.”
Placed in a school for children with disabilities, Phil excelled academically. He went on to receive a Doctorate of Jurisprudence from Indiana University’s Indianapolis Law School in 1974. After working as a corporate attorney for Railroadmen's Federal Savings & Loan, and later the Federal Savings & Loan in Birmingham Alabama, he moved to Brevard County, Florida, in the mid 1980s where he worked for real estate developer Charles Nelson. Afterwards, he set up a private law practice in Melbourne, FL., and was elected to the county bench, serving from 1995 to 2000, adding a fifth year as a senior judge traveling around the state.
He then landed with the Fraxedas Mediation firm in Orlando, FL., eventually returning to private practice in civil and family law until retiring at age 78.
Despite a long list of excruciatingly painful issues, including post polio syndrome, neuropathy, arthritis, sciatica, and much more, he remained optimistic and determined to live the best life he could. When asked why he never gives up, he replied, “I guess I just don’t know any better.”
His kind, wise, and indomitable spirit has been a light to countless souls along their treacherous journeys of life. Where others would easily give up on him, he refused to give up on others– or on himself. His family offers the following video tribute in his honor.