Philomena Ward Cox was born in Owensboro, Ky., on March 9, 1926, to Thomas Sylvester Cox Sr. and Margaret Catherine Ebelhar Cox. She was baptized on March 14, 1926 by Rev. Richard Maloney and confirmed on April 26, 1936 by the Most Reverend John A. Floersch.
She was the third child in the Cox family with older brother Thomas and older sister Mary Gertrude. She attended St. Joseph School in Owensboro in both elementary and secondary levels staffed by the Ursulines of Mount Saint Joseph.
After graduating from high school in 1944, Philomena entered Mount Saint Joseph novitiate on the evening of September 7, 1944. She received the habit of the Ursuline community on August 14, 1945; Philomena kept her baptismal name as her religious name. After two years of training in the novitiate, she made her first profession on August 15, 1947, and three years later after more study in summer months, made her final vows on August 15, 1950. Her classmates were Sisters Mary Laura Henning, Mary Mercedes Knott, Theresa Ann Legeay, Ann Marie Millay, Joseph Cecelia Mueller, Marie Kathleen Saffer, and Marie Brenda Vowels.
Like many of the MSJ Ursulines, Philomena started teaching before she had her degrees. She completed her bachelor’s degree in history in 1965 at Brescia College and received her master’s degree in history from St. Louis University in 1970.
Sister Philomena taught during the school years and attended classes for her degrees in the summer. She taught in Kentucky at St. Catherine School in New Haven, Clementsville Public School and St. Charles Public School in Marian County, St. Alphonsus School in St. Joseph, St. Pius X Owensboro, St. Mary Magdalene in Sorgho and St. Columba in Louisville. In 1976, she began a 15-year mission at Brescia College in Owensboro. She became the Director of Building Services which involved maintaining the buildings and grounds, and overseeing the cleaning.
After the Brescia appointment, Sister was assigned work in the Business Office of Mount Saint Joseph Motherhouse. She served there from 1991 to 2000 and moved to the local treasurer’s office from 2000 to 2008. Sister retired in 2008.
Sister Philomena Cox, 91, died on her birthday, March 9, 2017, at Mount Saint Joseph. Sister was in her 72nd year of religious life. The funeral Mass was Tuesday, March 14, 2017 at 10:30 am at Mount Saint Joseph. Her remains are buried in the convent cemetery.