Phillip Wilcox

Phillip John Wilcox was born on Thursday, January 10, 1957 in Hammond, IN. Phillip and his family didn’t stay long in Indiana. They temporarily moved to Tucson, Arizona, and then eventually settled down in Los Angeles, CA. Phil spent his younger years growing up with his parents and six siblings. As a child he had a magnetic personality and a great imagination. He was also known to be the goofball in the family and strived to make everyone laugh. His fun personality and good heart brought so much joy to all who were around him. Even though he was always known to be the life of the party, Phil would set aside time to be serious once in awhile to give great advice and be there for those he cared about.

Phil was thoroughly loved by countless childhood friends especially during his time at Cleveland High School in Reseda, CA. He met a lot of his friends being a part of the Explorer post 59 club which was a youth program that helped kids pursue special interests, grow, and develop. Some of Phil’s favorite passions growing up were traveling, spending time by the ocean, picking fresh fruit from various fruit orchards around his neighborhood, muscle cars, and dirt bikes. Phil later attended Pierce college in Woodland Hills CA. He also went to the Cleveland Institute of Electronics in 1983 completing his associates degree. The mechanical skills that he developed at an early age would soon propel him into many careers that allowed him to travel all around the world.

There were really two things that Phil was most proud of; his family and his service to his country. He enlisted into the army reserves on October 13th, 1983. From there he joined the 574th personnel company that attached him to the 3d squadron, 12th cavalry in Fort Knox, Kentucky. Then he was sent to Fort Benning, Georgia for advanced training in 1985 and received an Army Achievement medal, Good Conduct medal, Parachutist badge, and Expert Marksman badge. In 1986 he was mobilized to Frankfurt, Germany and was assigned to the 21st replacement brigade and received his Overseas Service Ribbon. During that time he served under the 3rd Spearhead Armored Division, which was the same Armored Division Elvis Presley served under in the late 1950’s. Phil truly loved being overseas in west Germany and traveling throughout Europe with all of his close comrades. Phil would regularly go to the local bistro in Budingen, Germany where he met his soon to be wife, Angelika Berggrun, and shortly after had his first and only child in August of 1987.

Once his deployment was over in 1987, he took his family back to Granada Hills, California. Due to the devastation of the Northridge Earthquake in 1994, Phill and his family made the tough decision to move to Denver, Co. Phil continued to be a family man and served his country for twenty-two years in the Army Reserves and Army National Guard. At this point in Phil’s life he cherished his family and friends more than anything in the world. Phil would share stories and jokes every chance he had, leaving a long lasting impression on everyone he encountered. The one thing he was the most amazing at was being a devoted father to his step children and son. He would work endlessly to provide for his family and still dedicated time to be a father. Phil often spoke of how proud he was of his children’s accomplishments and enjoyed watching them grow into incredibly successful people. Phil also strived to be apart of his grandchildren and children’s life by attending football games, soccer games, plays, graduations, and weddings. Nothing brought him more joy then being around his family.

Even though we suffered a tragic loss, we genuinely feel Phil’s love and happiness will live on and his legacy will never be forgotten. We will always remember his laugh, great sense of humor, love for God, his country, and most important of all, his love for his family. We thank him for all his great achievements in life and for being a coworker, friend, brother, husband, father and grandfather. He will truly be missed. When Phillip passed away on Sunday, April 18, 2021, he was 64 years old. May he rest in glorious peace and live eternally in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Phil’s favorite quote was from the American author, John Steinbeck. “A man, after he has brushed off the dust and chips of his life, will have left only the hard, clean question: Was it good or was it evil? Have I done well - or ill?” We know how much good Phil has brought into this world and how accomplished he must have felt. He will be missed by many. We love you Phil!