Dr. Philip G Irwin, of Ruffsdale, PA, passed away peacefully in his daughters’ home in Royersford, PA on Friday, February 21, 2025 from Congestive Heart Failure at the age of 90.
Before “Dr. Phil” became famous, there was our dad, the “ORIGINAL Dr. Phil”. Born on November 20, 1934 in Duquesne, Pa, he was a man who we were proud to call our father, and his grandchildren affectionately called him PapPap. Philip was a man of strong principles, integrity and moral character. A devout Catholic, he lived out his Catholic faith, which guided his decisions throughout his entire life and gave him the fortitude to bear life’s hardships with grace and dignity.
He graduated from McKeesport High School, earned his BS in Chemistry from Duquesne University, his Master’s degree in Chemistry from Purdue, and his PhD in Chemistry from Pennsylvania State University. While in graduate school at PSU, he met the love of his life, Hildred Ann Wise. Upon graduating from PSU, they were married on June 17, 1961 at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in McKeesport, PA. They went on to have six children.
Philip worked for some of the country’s top Chemical companies. He was a brilliant chemist who invented innovative products and held multiple patents which improved the everyday lives of people. He became aware that one of the companies he worked for had ties with questionable financial backing and voiced his objection to continue working for the company. He eventually faced retaliation before securing new employment, which made future employment opportunities difficult for decades. Philip’s promising career was cut short due to living out his principles and convictions.
He turned his focus to farming and his family and became Mr. Mom, much like the movie and with some of theatrics while raising his son and 5 daughters (however, no coupon poker games!). He was totally devoted to his wife of 63 years and his children. He was the greatest of fathers and a loving husband, and made the best beef soup, stuffed cabbage and tuna casseroles and many traditional Slovak cuisines.
He was known for entertaining his family and friends with his travel stories from the Far East involving talk of hydrocarbon resins (most of which went over our heads!), had a keen sense of humor, and loved to tell jokes and make people laugh. He was an amazing man, the details of what made him that way cannot possibly be captured here.
He is preceded in death by his loving parents, Andrew and Anna (Dobransky) Irwin, his brother Donald Irwin, his sister, Joan Malarkey, his nieces Katie Wise, Jean Wise, Lori Malarkey, Cindy Irwin, and Diana Irwin, and his nephew William Malarkey.
He is survived by his wife Hildred Ann Irwin, and his 6 children Janet (Tim) Henderson, Nancy (John) Petro, Patti (Dr. Anthony) Putorti, Stephen (Beth) Irwin, Judith Irwin, and Linda Irwin, his grandchildren Nicholas and Sarah Putorti, as well as many nieces and nephews. To his niece Sandy Dowling and his nephews Mark and John Irwin – you were a light in his life and he loved you.
His son Stephen and daughters Judy and Linda were not only his children, but his loving, patient and compassionate caretakers to his last breath.
He will be forever missed and loved and we are extremely grateful and thankful for the many sacrifices he made for his family. We were blessed that we had him in our lives and will do our very best to honor his life as we go forward without him.
A funeral mass will be held on Friday, February 28, 2025 at 11:00AM at St. Thomas More Church (2101 Pottstown Pike, Pottstown, PA 19465). Burial will be held privately by the family at a later date. A Viewing will be held on Thursday, February 27, 2025, from 6:00pm-8:00pm at Catagnus Funeral Home & Cremation Center, Ltd. (329 N. Lewis Rd., Royersford, PA 19468). Viewing will also be held on Friday, February 28, 2025, from 10:00am-10:45am at St. Thomas More, preceding the mass.
In lieu of sending flowers, the family kindly requests a donation in his name to the Mercy Ship https://www.mercyships.org/
or the Pennsylvania Association of the Blind https://www.pablind.org