Philip F. Kulusich of Hermitage passed away peacefully under hospice care on Sunday, October 16, 2016, in St. John XXIII Home, Hermitage, after fighting a lengthy battle with multiple myeloma. He was 90.

Born in Farrell, Pennsylvania to Nicholas and Helen (Hranilovich) Bossick Kulusich on August 8, 1926, the family moved to Sharon, Pa during his early youth.

Philip began his musical career at age seven playing brac with the Bratsvo Hrvatska ensemble at the Croatian American Civic Club lead by Paul Perman and later his uncle Emil Bossick. He also studied with noted area musician Phil King and played in several ethnic ensembles as well as area dance bands during his youth.

He began working at the former Sharon Transformer Division of Westinghouse Electric Corp. as an apprentice dye-maker as he began his sophomore year in high school.

Philip left high school during his junior year to serve his country during the 2nd world war as a fireman first class in the US Navy following in the footsteps of his older brother Danny. His tour of duty on the USS Lenoir (AKA 74) took him to many major battles of the Pacific Theater. He assisted in piloting the landing craft that placed the fighting troops on the shores of the Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, the Solomon Islands, and arrived in Nagasaki the second day after the atomic bomb to provide humanitarian aid to the people of the region. He finished his tour of duty cruising to the Aleutian Islands and then down the pacific coastline to cross through the Panama Canal where his ship was officially retired from the war effort in Bainbridge, Maryland. He received the Pacific Theater Ribbon, American Theater Ribbon, and Victory Medal and was honorably discharged in July of 1946.

He returned to finish high school and graduated from Sharon High School in 1947. After graduation, he worked part time at Sharon Steel while he began his education at the Dana Conservatory of Music, now part of Youngstown State University. While at studying at Dana, Philip played with many of the major dance bands that came on tour in the area as well as several popular local groups. He was one of the first members of the marching band that was formed to perform for the half time shows at Youngstown College and became a lifelong member of the Phi Mu Alpha music fraternity.

During this time, he met the love of his life Noreen Komar, and after a lengthy courtship (just ask Noreen to confirm that story), they married in St. Elizabeth Church on April 21, 1951.

Philip graduated with Honors from Dana in 1953 and began employment with the Hickory (now Hermitage) School District as the Instrumental Music Instructor and Band Director where he taught for over thirty years.

He completed his Masters in Education degree at Westminster College in 1958 and continued his educational and musical studies at various colleges and universities throughout his long career.

Known for his calm demeanor, his attention to detail, and his dedication to the music program and his students, Philip inspired many of his students to continue on in their musical studies to become musical professionals in both education and performance.

While teaching full time, Philip also taught private lessons at Kings Music Store and Marks Music Store for many years and played with the Carl Marks Band at many concerts in the summer at Buhl Park. He also did painting at Deans Dairy, many times scaling the high towers of the tankers to get the job done.

Philip loved to travel and assisted the Hickory High School Choir as they toured Romania in 1973 and later England.

Many summers Philip and Noreen along with their daughters Janet and Gail, would travel across the country visiting friends and relatives while touring many of America's historic and scenic areas.

He was always busy and ready to lend a helping hand to relatives, neighbors or friends no matter what the task. From shingling a roof, to painting or building a house, blacktopping a driveway or driving a neighbor to Roswell, NY for cancer treatments everyone knew that they could count on Phil any time of the day or night.

Because of his calm demeanor, he was usually the one that taught the ever eager teenagers to drive and the first one to call when there was a crisis that needed to be dealt with.

He was a devoted father and grandfather taking pride in everything that his daughters and grandchildren did. He would always be there for a performance or ceremony no matter what the distance or what the weather and enjoyed many games at Beaver Stadium at Penn State as well as Clarion State watching his daughters march in the band. From operas, to pageants, to musicals, to choral and instrumental concerts, he was always in the audience, camera in hand to give his support (and usually a critique or two).

Philip was a long time parishioner at Notre Dame Parish. He was a lifetime member of the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association, the Music Educators National Conference, the Pennsylvania State Education Association and the Phi Mu Alpha Music Fraternity. He was also a member of the Hermitage VFW as well as Lodge 126 of the Croatian American Civic Club and the Croatian Fraternal Union of America.

Philip is survived by his wife of 65 years, the former Noreen Komar, also a resident of St. John XXIII Home; two daughters, Janet Buzzeo and her husband Gene, Hermitage; and Gail Noullet and her husband Ron, Monroeville, Pa; grandchildren Jonathan Hanratty in Boulder, CO; and Kayta Noullet in Monroeville, Pa; as well as his brother Matthew Kulusich, Hermitage, Pa; and a nephew Ralph Kulusich and his wife Debbie, Warren,Ohio.

Phil was preceded in death by his parents Nick and Helen Kulusich; and a brother Daniel Kulusich formerly of San Pedro, CA.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Kulusich-Buzzeo Music Scholarship program ? Community Foundation of Western PA and Eastern Ohio, 7 W. State St., Suite #301, Sharon, PA 16146. The scholarship provides monies to students from Hickory High School who will be majoring in music education, the Alzheimer's Foundation of America and the American Cancer Society.

Calling hours will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, October 19, 2016, in J. Bradley McGonigle Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc., 1090 E. State St., Sharon.

Funeral Mass will be 11 a.m. Thursday, October 20, 2016, in the Church of Notre Dame, Hermitage, with Rev. Jeffery J. Noble, pastor, as celebrant. Interment: St. Elizabeth Cemetery, Farrell, with military honors rendered by the Hickory VFW Honor Guard.