…Tewksbury Hospital, WWII Veteran; 96
TEWKSBURY – Philip John Cogan, age 96, a lifelong resident of Tewksbury and a Veteran of WWII, died peacefully Saturday morning, June 20, at Lowell General Hospital, following a brief illness. He was the beloved husband for fifty-six years of Isabelle Ann (Downs) Cogan, who died in 2008.
He was born in Lowell one of six children of the late Edmund and Bridget (Regan) Cogan, and moved to Tewksbury at an early age. He was educated in Tewksbury Schools and enlisted into the Army shortly after graduation from High School.
He served for thirty months in the U.S. Army 635th Anti-Aircraft Battery during the Battle of Britain. Later he was a participant of the Omaha Beach invasion forces, and crossed Northern France into the Rhineland. He earned the Good Conduct and Victory Medals, and the European African Middle Eastern Campaign Ribbon and the American Theater Campaign Ribbon. Upon Honorable Discharge, he returned to work at Tewksbury Hospital, where he worked as a Brick Mason for over thirty-four years.
He was a life member of the D.A.V. Post 110 in Tewksbury, and the American Legion Post 259 in Tewksbury. He was also a lifelong communicant of St. William’s Church in Tewksbury.
He leaves four children, Barry Cogan and Alicia Frank of Hookset, NH, and their children Xander and Dagny, Phyllis Cate and her husband Dave of Pelham, NH and their children, Stephen and wife Jessica Cate of Manchester, NH, and Meredith and Garrett Ginter of Vancouver, WA, Roger Cogan and his wife Lauren of Billerica, and Peter Cogan of Tewksbury; many nieces and nephews, and was predeceased by his siblings, Walter “Wally” Cogan, Edward “Eddy” Cogan, infant Edmund Cogan, Mary Thornton, and Helen O’Brien.
At his request funeral services are private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Heart Association, P.O. Box 417005, Boston, MA 02241-7005 or vis www.heart.org The Tewksbury Funeral Home is honored to serve the Cogan family. For e-condolences, visit www.legacy.com. See: tewksburyfuneralhome.com