‘He
loved his flock’
Father Cox, pastor emeritus of
St. Peter Parish, Honey Brook, dies at 78
Father William J. Cox
By Christie L. Chicoine
CS&T Staff Writer
“It’s worth it all.”
That was Father William J. Cox’s assessment of the priesthood, to
which he dedicated 52 years of his life.
Father Cox, pastor emeritus of St. Peter Parish in Honey Brook, died Friday,
April 25, 2008, at Holy Redeemer Hospital in Meadowbrook. He was 78.
Father Cox was born Dec. 9, 1929, in Philadelphia, the eldest of two children
of the late William J. and Eileen V. (Sprissler) Cox.
John Tronoski, Father Cox’s nephew, recalled how attentive his uncle
was to his family, especially after Tronoski’s mother died when
he was 10 years old.
“It didn’t matter what parish he was in — he was there
every weekend,” said Tronoski, 40 a member of St. Peter Parish,
now located in West Brandywine.
“He would bring the old books with the Peanuts cartoons in them,
and we’d just sit and read them for hours.”
He also loved to play golf and watch it on TV.
“Now, when I watch golf, I think of him,” Tronoski said.
Father Cox attended St. Helena Parochial School and La Salle College High
School in Wyndmoor before entering St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood.
He was ordained May 10, 1956, by Archbishop John F. O’Hara at Immaculate
Conception Church in the Germantown section of Philadelphia.
Assignments included parochial vicar, Mary, Queen of Peace Parish, Pottsville;
St. Joseph, Spring City; St. Francis De Sales, St. Ambrose, St. Joachim
and St. Matthew, all in Philadelphia; Sacred Heart, Havertown; St. Michael
the Archangel, Levittown, and Our Lady of Fatima, Bensalem. He also served
as a parochial adminstrator at St. Albert the Great Parish in Huntingdon
Valley.
Father Cox taught religion at Bishop Kenrick High School in Norristown
from 1957 to 1962. He was also a chaplain at Bishop Conwell High School
in Levittown in 1976 and at St. Hubert Catholic High School for Girls
in Philadelphia in 1984.
“He loved teaching about the Church, and teaching in general,”
his nephew said. “He couldn’t stress to us enough how important
it was to go to school and to get a good education and to always strive
for excellence.”
In 1991, Father Cox was appointed pastor of St. Peter Parish in Honey
Brook and named pastor emeritus there in 2003.
“He was a loving pastor — he loved his flock,” said
Dottie Pepe, the parish business manager.
“Even though we were challenging at times, he still loved us,”
she said with a laugh. “He kind of converted us to a parish that
is active and vibrant and welcoming to new people. … I’m a
better Christian for having met him.”
It was Father Cox who began the capital campaign for St. Peter’s
new church in West Brandywine, which was dedicated in 2007. Father Cox
did an outstanding job of stewarding the money the parish had collected.
so the next pastor could continue the construction of a new church, Pepe
said.
Cardinal Justin Rigali celebrated Father Cox’s funeral Mass Wednesday,
April 30 at St. Robert Bellarmine Church in Warminster. Father Peter J.
DiMaria was the homilist.
“Father Cox was a man of prayer, devoted to the Mass and to our
Lady, and a faithful son of the Church,” said Father DiMaria, a
parochial vicar at Stella Maris Parish in Philadelphia.
Father DiMaria met Father Cox when he was assigned to assist with weekend
Masses at St. Peter during the last two years of Father Cox’s pastorate.
According to Father DiMaria, one phrase that was truly the motto of Father
Cox’s priestly life was “Praise the Lord,” which he
frequently said and followed with joyful laughter.
“Father Cox, go, and receive that welcome, and praise the Lord forever,”
Father DiMaria concluded in his homily.
In addition to his parents, Father Cox was preceded in death by his sister,
Eileen Tronoski.
In addition to his nephew John Tronoski, survivors include a brother-in-law,
John Tronoski; two other nephews; five great-nieces and numerous cousins.
Interment was at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Philadelphia.
CS&T Staff Writer Christie L. Chicoine may be reached at (215)
587-2468 or cchicoin@adphila.org.