“Surf’s Up! The waves are gnarly at Rincon” is a phrase our beloved son, brother, husband, father and friend Phillip Joseph DiBartolomeo can no longer say. He lost his battle with the flu and pneumonia on Jan 13, 2026 in the MICU at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.

Phil was born in Connecticut, but moved to Santa Barbara with his family in 1968, later graduating from Santa Barbara High School and Pepperdine University. This is where he developed his passion and purpose for the ocean and surfing.

He tried various jobs and skills, but opening his surfboard shop Rippin Stix became his focus until his untimely death.

Phil married Andrea Moreno in Santa Barbara in 1991 and had two wonderful children Adam and Lily in 1995 and 2001. He remarried to Kathy Jo “KJ” Watson in 2005, with whom he moved to Oxnard to live out much of his life.

Phil always marched to a different drummer; skeptical and often misunderstood others, but stood firm for the ones he loved.

He found happiness and salvation in the ocean, on the beach, and in tending to plants and animals he would bring home.

Phil is survived by his mother Erica; brother Raymond, sister-in-law Dana; nephews Brody and Owen; his children Adam and Lily; the mother of his children, Andrea; his wife, KJ, and her extended family; and many close relatives on Long Island, New York.

Viewing will be held starting at 9:30 a.m. Jan. 22, with a service, 1-3 p.m., at Welch-Ryce-Haider, 450 Ward Drive, Santa Barbara.