Even though his term as grand president officially ended in August, Cox was well-respected among members of his former fraternity. The fraternity reached out and helped him during his battle with cancer when he was diagnosed in February 2013.
On Facebook and Twitter, news of his death received condolences from Bloomington and from Sig Ep fraternities across the nation. Alumni and members of Sig Ep also commented on Cox’s legacy with the fraternity.
“I am convinced that Phil’s living legacy will be the impact that he had on thousands and thousands of undergraduate Sig Ep brothers across the United States,” said Chris Foster, a former fraternity brother of Cox.
Cox graduated from IU in 1984 and was a brother of Sig Ep, according to a previous article in the Indiana Daily Student. He said that everything good that happened to him since his academic life at IU can be traced directly back to Sig Ep.
His involvement with the fraternity did not end with his graduation. He became a regional consultant for Sig Ep’s national office in Richmond, Virginia.
Cox was just as passionate about his family as he was about Sig Ep; he said in the IDS article the things that mattered to him most were to be “a good husband, a good father and a good Sig Ep volunteer.”
While in Richmond, he met his wife, Jane, who was hesitant at first to date Cox because of his active involvement with his former fraternity. Regardless, the two eventually married, and Cox moved with her to Indianapolis, where their children, Phillip and Caroline, were born.
Accompanying this adoration for the fraternity was an adoration for “brotherly love.” He emphasized the importance of the concept to members of Sig Ep in a speech following his election as grand president in 2013.
“Brotherly love is not just about the good times and good friends,” he said in the speech. “Sometimes brotherly love is what gets you through your toughest days, too.”
As a Sig Ep volunteer, Cox wrote a personal check to the fraternity to protect it from foreclosure, paid utility bills and gave members advice and attention. After he was elected grand president, he created programs that promoted and emphasized adult volunteering within the chapters.
In his honor, and as gratitude to Cox’s contributions, Sig Ep created the Phillip A. Cox Volunteer Institute. Last August, the institution received more than $800,000 in donations, a new record for any Sig Ep initiative, according to the IDS article.
Cox also was honored with the Order of the Golden Heart in August for his many years of contribution, Sig Ep National Chaplain the Rev. Ray Ackerman said in an email to members of the fraternity.
Sig Ep also supported Cox by having his initials embroidered in the winning team’s jerseys for the 2014 Little 500 race. Also, the fraternity hung a bright red and purple sign that reads “Fight like Phil Today” above the stairs that leads into Sig Ep’s entryway. The sign serves as inspiration not only to the former grand president, but also the students of IU.
Indiana Beta Sig Ep President Benjamin Nahrstadt said Cox’s contributions to Sig Ep had made a significant impact on the fraternity and that Cox’s efforts to connect personally to undergraduates made him a “second father figure” for members of Sig Ep .
“Phil was the living embodiment of our Cardinal Principles of Virtue, Diligence and Brotherly Love,” he said.
