Philip Mugler

Philip Mugler May 13, 1920 - June 30, 2017 Phil Mugler Adventurer, Patriarch, and POW May 13, 1920 – June 30, 2017 Philip (“Ole Phil”) Mugler died June 30 in St. Augustine, FL. He was 97. Born in Buffalo, NY, Phil moved to Orchard Park, NY at age 9. He attended Ridley College and Nichols. In September 1942, at age 22, Phil boarded the Queen Mary and headed to Europe with 15,000 servicemen to do his part for the war. He fought in the 1st Armored Division where he was captured in North Africa by Rommel’s troops. As the first POW from Western New York, he was held in stalags and work commandos across Germany. He traded goods to stay alive, kept a journal, and sabotaged enemy efforts. After a 500-mile forced march across Germany, he heard the rumbling of a tank and bursts from a 50-caliber machine gun. Turns out, American tanks had entered the area. Phil and his buddy chased one down and the tank commander pulled them aboard. They were liberated. Phil had been held captive for 25 months and 25 days. Now a free man, vowing no one else would ever tell him what to do, he married Jean Hoag, settled in Orchard Park next door to his childhood home, and raised his family. He worked for the Charles P. Mugler Paper Company and developed real estate locally. In 1972, he and Jean moved to East Otto, NY. Later he lived in Marathon, FL, and St. Augustine, FL. Phil was a great adventurer. After gaining freedom from the forced march, he chose his own marching orders – he hiked hunting trails in Wyoming, portages in Algonquin, the heights of Yosemite, the depths of the Grand Canyon, juniper-lined paths of Muskoka Lake in Canada, and the hardwood docks of Faro Blanco Marina in Florida. He embraced nature – stem to stern – through fishing, scuba diving, canoeing, hunting and skiing. He loved flea markets, Burl Ives, and reading Robert Service poems to unsuspecting dinner guests. Phil was preceded in death by his parents Charles P. and Florence “Brogan” Mugler and his brother, John H. Mugler. Survivors include his sister, Joan Holl; three children, Charles Mugler, Martha Clancy, and Jane Wood; three grandchildren, Sarah Vallely and Seth and Heather Clancy; five great-grandchildren; and sixteen nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held at 1:30 on Saturday, September 9, at Orchard Park Presbyterian Church. St. Johns Family Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.