‘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.
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