Philip Jerome Prygoski

Philp Jerome Prygoski, age 71 years, passed away on Saturday, October 5, 2019 surrounded by family at his home in Okemos, Michigan. He was born on December 7, 1947, in Wyandotte, Michigan to the late Vincent and Rosalia Przygocki.

Phil spent his entire childhood in Wyandotte. He attended Our Lady of Mt. Caramel High School and immersed himself in sports. He excelled at baseball as a second baseman, and was a star guard on his high school basketball team. Phil was coached at times by both his brother and his dad. Upon graduation, Phil was presented with Mt. Carmel’s award for outstanding student athlete and continued to play sports well into his adult life.

Phil attended college at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and then a master’s degree in English literature. His unmatched intellectual curiosity led him to then pursue both a law degree and a master’s of law, again at the University of Michigan.

Phil was a nationally-recognized and respected constitutional law professor, teaching and inspiring thousands of students throughout his career. He taught for 36 years at Thomas M. Cooley Law School, receiving the Stanley E. Beattie Teaching Award an astonishing 35 times. Phil spent three sabbaticals teaching constitutional law at University of Wisconsin, University of Tennessee, and University of Oklahoma. He received teaching awards at both University of Wisconsin and University of Tennessee in addition to those he received at Thomas M. Cooley. During his tenure, Phil published approximately 25 law review articles on various constitutional law topics, and wrote a book, “Sum and Substance Quick Review: Constitutional Law,” designed to simplify the study of constitutional law and aid students studying for the bar exam. Phil updated the book every year with new cases and developments in the field. In 2013, Phil was one of 26 law professors featured in a Harvard publication, “What the Best Law Teachers Do,” a testament to his undying passion and talent for teaching constitutional law.

On February 9, 1985, Phil married Mary Katherine Hicks, a former student in his constitutional law class and fellow Lansing-area attorney. Phil and Mary had three children, Matt, Jeff, and Alicia. In 1993, they built their dream house in Okemos, Michigan, where they resided for the rest of Phil’s life. Nothing meant more to Phil than his family; he greatly enjoyed coaching his children’s basketball teams, taking them on family trips all over the United States, decorating the house together every Christmas, and spending afternoons together watching Michigan sports. Phil instilled a passion for reading and writing in all of his children, and when Jeff and Alicia followed in his footsteps and graduated from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 2016, Phil was there on stage to personally give them their diplomas.

In 2012, Phil suffered a massive stroke while doing what he most loved, teaching constitutional law at Cooley’s Ann Arbor campus. Over the next seven years, he made a miraculous recovery, never losing his extensive knowledge of constitutional law and never giving up on rehabilitation and recovery. During this time, Phil was able to go on several family trips; he celebrated his 30th anniversary with Mary in Holland, Michigan, made several trips to Matt’s farm house in Indiana, visited Alicia with Mary when Alicia moved to Washington D.C., vacationed in one of his favorite places in Door County, Wisconsin with his entire family, and visited Asheville, North Carolina with Mary and Alicia. Phil was able to travel extensively in his post-stroke years in large part due to the wheelchair van the family purchased with funds raised by the “Run 4 Phil” in June 2013, a day that Phil frequently cited as one of the best days of his life. Phil was so loved that he celebrated his 70th birthday in 2017 with eight different birthday parties.

Phil is survived by his wife, Mary Katherine (Hicks) Prygoski; his three children: Matt (Megan) Prygoski, Jeff (Sara) Prygoski, and Alicia Prygoski (Luke Orndorff); his granddaughter, Fiona Prygoski; sister-in-law, Shirley Prygoski, and his niece, Jessica Hicks, in addition to other nieces and nephews.

He is preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Ken Prygoski.

A memorial service will be held on October 10 at 11:00 am at the Presbyterian Church of Okemos, with visitations at the Church on October 9 from 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm and October 10 from 10:00 am to 11:00 am.

Memorial contributions in lieu of flowers can be made to the National Organization for Rare Disorders, Attn: Department 5930, P.O. Box 4110, Woburn, MA 01888 (rarediseases.org), an organization that helped Phil with his recovery after a second stroke in 2018. In order for the family to be notified of your gift in Philip's honor, please be sure the check the "Dedicate my donation in memory" and list "[email protected]" as the email contact.

Condolences and memories may be shared at www.greastlansing.com