Phillip “Pinno” C. Cruz, 60, of Phoenix, Arizona entered into heaven on Monday, August 2, 2021 with his wife, son Jonathan and Annalesia at his side. Just before he left, he lifted his head up high and looked into his wife's eyes as to say good bye. Phillip was born in Phoenix, Arizona on June 8, 1961 the 2nd of 14 children to Ralph and Mary Cruz. Phillip went to Murphy Elementary school and attended Carl Hayden High School.
Phillip met the love of his life, Josephine “Cha-cha”, when she was in middle school and he was in high school. They were inseparable. They married on June 25, 1982 and started their family. Together they had 4 very handsome sons: Phillip Jr, Jesus, Nathanial and Jonathan.
Phillip lived life on his own terms. He wasn't afraid of anything. He found many jobs that he enjoyed, when his boys were young, but none that were more important than them or his wife. He worked installing counter tops and assisted with remodels. He was a handy man and could fix anything and he made all the repairs around the house. When his boys were a little older, on July 6, 2001, Phillip started his 20 plus year career as a baker at Holsum bakery.
Family was the most important thing to Phillip. While his family was still very young he spent all of his time with them. He would take his wife, Josephine, to the movies and make sure they arrived as soon as the doors opened. They would then spend the entire day jumping from one theater to the next and watch everything that played that day (without tickets). He took his family on several trips and made sure that they enjoyed all of the things that he never had. He took them to all of the theme parks; Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm, Universal Studio's, Sea World and Magic Mountain. He made sure that they spent time at the beach and took day trips in Arizona to go fishing for the first time, or just to show them the sites. Just for fun they would often go to mall or to the swap meet, as soon as it opened, and stay all day just walking around.
Phillip liked spending personal time with Josephine. He took her to Hawaii; Cancun to swim with the stingrays who were so close they brushed against them, and Phillip actually caught a huge fish and held it in his arms. They traveled to Las Vegas to see the casino's and the strip and to play the slots; to Santa Monica to walk on the pier; and to Florida to sit on the beach.
When the boys were still in school, both Phillip and Josephine coached their baseball and t-ball teams, which lasted for several years. They made sure that they were at all of the children’s events and that tradition had continued with their grandchildren.
He loved the Cowboys football team, and made sure that his family loved them too. His love for the Cowboy's came when he saw them play at ASU, after he jumped the fence to get into the stadium. They would watch all the games together with their jersey's and hats on and yell at the TV to encourage the team! One of Phillips favorite players was #22 Emmitt Smith, a former running back with the cowboys for 15 seasons. He also loved all of the Marvel superheroes, especially Spiderman and couldn't wait to see them in the movies and to watch repeats on the TV.
Phillip loved the holiday's. His favorites were Christmas and Halloween. He would make decorations for the yard and make sure his house was the best on the block. He made life-like Christmas cutouts out of wood to put in the yard along with hundreds of lights for everyone to enjoy. When the children were young, Phillip would dress up like Santa Clause and pass out presents. Josephine would make her famous tamales, menudo and homemade cookies and the whole family would come over to celebrate. At Halloween, they would decorate, sometimes like a haunted house with a casket that Phillip made out of wood, and they would dress up and scare the children as they were "trick or treating".
Phillip will be remembered for his love for his family first, his since of humor and love in giving his family members nick names, and his love for life.
Phillip leaves behind, the love of his life and wife of 39 years, Josephine “Chacha”; children, Phillip Jr "Bones", Jesus "Moose" with (Liliana "Letty"), Nathaniel "Pumpkin" with (Angelica “Angie”), and Jonathan (Jonnie) "Jonnie Storm" with (Sandy "Gangster") and daughter-in-law Monica: 8 grandchildren, Angelina "baby girl", Annalesia “Lissy”, Anthony "Gordito", Phillip III “little pan”, Mialanie “Mia”, Nathaniel "Boo", Kataleya "Flower", Melody “lizard”, Selene "Shaw nah nah", Ruben, Bella "Bella Wella", and Amaya "birthday girl": and seven living brothers and sisters.
Phillip is preceded in heaven by his parents, and six brothers and sisters.
A visitation for Phillip will be held Tuesday, August 17, 2021 from 6:00 PM to 7:45 at Chapel of the Chimes Mortuary in the Garden Venue located at 7924 North 59th Ave, Glendale, AZ 85301. The service will start at 6:00 PM, with Pastor Noah Martinez. Face coverings are required and no photos please.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.ChapeloftheChimesMortuary.com for the Cruz family.
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