Philip M. Cox III
Philip M. Cox III, 80, died Tuesday, October 17, 2023, surrounded by his devoted family and friends, after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer.
For more than 42 years, Philip was the much-loved husband of Kathleen M. Cox.
He was born on Christmas Eve of 1942, in New Castle, to parents, Ruth and Philip. Philip grew up in Harlansburg and then Hopewell, with his siblings, Marjorie Ann (the late Robert), the late Timothy J. (surviving, Debra) and Jeffrey P. (Jody).
Philip attended Westminster College, graduating in 1964.
After graduating, he married his former wife, Barbara Heiple Cox, with whom he had two children, Carrie Golvash (Paul) and Philip Jason (Saltanat). He and Kathy added three more children to the family, Aaron, Brendan (Elizabeth) and Caitlin (Andrew). He is also survived by six grandchildren, Andrew and Alexander Golvash, Eltay Sagynbekov, Augustus and Margaret Weckenmann, and Colin Cox; and other extended family and friends.
Philip was a successful banker and small businessman, who, at one point in time, could barely walk a block in the city of Pittsburgh without being stopped by a client, friend or colleague. For nearly 30 years, he ran Martin and Millvale Burial Vault, which he and his partner subsequently sold to Wilbert of Pittsburgh, allowing him to retire at age 65.
Like everything in his life, Philip hit retirement at full force. He read voraciously, travelled extensively, golfed endlessly and spent most of the fall and winter months in the woods hunting pheasants, grouse and deer. At 79, the same age he was when diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Philip was playing the best golf of his life, with a handicap of 16.5. Even after diagnosis and the start of chemotherapy, he successfully landed an eight-point buck with a bow.
Philip was intelligent and quick-witted until the very end, playing the New York Times Spelling Bee while waiting to be transferred to hospice care and asking why Kathy was there. He quipped that he thought she was going to Kennywood that day.
He handled his illness with incredible courage and grace. At the end of his life, he was comforted by the words of the Serenity Prayer: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Family and friends are welcome from 3 to 8 p.m. Monday, October 23, in the Beinhauer Funeral Home, 2828 Washington Road, McMurray (724-941-3211), where services will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, October 24.
Pancreatic cancer is woefully under-funded, so in lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to PanCAN, an organization dedicated to pancreatic cancer research, and Hillman Cancer Center.