He was also an instructor at South Puget Sound Community College where he taught business skills courses (and after his death a memorial scholarship fund was created and maintained at South Puget Sound Community College for a couple of years in his honor.
During his work for Washington State Government Philip D. Coombs received many awards and accolades.
In 1998 he was chosen to present the state's electronic information systems progress with META-Tag technology at the INET conference in Geneva, Switzerland.
[5] Philip D. Coombs died on July 4, 2001, of a massive heart attack while sailing on Black Lake in Tumwater, Washington.
A will contest was filed in the Thurston County Superior Court that continued until the case was mediated and a settlement was reached in 2002.