Philip Resch Obituary

Philip “Phil” Richard Resch, 60, passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by family and friends, on December 22, 2025, after a long and courageous battle with metastatic prostate cancer.

Phil was born on November 9, 1965, to the late William and Lucille (Thiele) Resch and was the youngest of their seven children. He grew up in Menasha and graduated from St. Mary’s Catholic High School in 1984. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in marketing and economics from the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh in 1988.

After graduation, Phil began a long and successful career in sales. He worked at Applied Industrial Technologies before joining Habasit America in 2000. Everyone says to find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life—and Phil truly lived that. He loved traveling, building relationships, mentoring salespeople, and helping customers find exactly the right belting for their needs and budget. Known for his remarkable memory of products, numbers, and pricing—and his ability to calculate totals and percentages in his head—he was affectionately nicknamed “Rain Man” by his colleagues. Phil consistently went the extra mile and earned multiple sales and managerial awards during his 25-year career with Habasit. He will be long remembered for his dedication, integrity, and commitment to excellence.

In 2010, Phil met his wife, Noel, and her two daughters, Madelyn and Morgan Hansel. Both huge Green Bay Packers fans, Phil and Noel were married on December 30, 2016, at Lambeau Field. Together they loved traveling, cooking, dining out, volunteering, and cheering on softball, baseball, and football games. They even traveled to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, to watch the Packers win Super Bowl XLV in 2011. Phil and Noel enjoyed attending community events, and they won several Halloween costume and ugly Christmas sweater contests.

Phil cherished his relationship with his stepdaughters. With Madelyn, he shared fishing trips, Marvel and DC Comics movies, and annual “birthday” Packers games. With Morgan, he enjoyed deep conversations, watching The Office and Ted Lasso, and attending her softball games throughout the years—he was her biggest fan. Phil was a father to Madelyn and Morgan in every sense of the word.

Phil fully embraced life and was a frequent traveler, earning elite status with airlines and hotels. He traveled extensively throughout the United States and Europe for both business and pleasure. He loved Chicago—especially the food scene. Chicago-style pizza, Chicago dogs, and Italian beef were his favorites, and he often selected hotel locations based on nearby restaurant options. Phil was also a Chicago Cubs fan—but we’ll try not to hold that against him, since he still rooted for the Brewers when they played each other.

In his leisure time, Phil enjoyed spending time with family, friends, and colleagues. He loved walking his dog, fishing, golfing, grilling, cooking, watching sports, playing cards, rolling dice, and running errands. He genuinely loved grocery shopping—especially at Costco—where he knew the price of everything and exactly where it was stocked. He had a true talent for finding the best deals. Phil also took great pride in his lawn care, often turning mowing into an all-afternoon event, followed by a well-earned McDonald’s ice cream cone. He also thoroughly enjoyed his annual weeklong vacation at Brekke’s Fireside Resort in Rhinelander with close friends.

Phil was a huge foodie. He loved watching Food Network and chose several travel destinations based on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. He especially loved pizza and burgers. Some of his favorite restaurants included Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria, Happy Joe’s Pizza, Mihm’s Charcoal Grill, and Cinder’s Charcoal Grill. He took great pride in his homemade chili, split pea and ham soup, cheesy potatoes, and cranberry fluff. Phil also had a fondness for sweets—especially Junior’s cheesecake, Seroogy’s chocolates, and Costco cakes. A central part of his love for sports was tailgating. He loved preparing food and sharing it with everyone.

In March 2018, Phil was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer. The news was shocking and devastating. Over the next seven and a half years, he endured extensive treatment with extraordinary resilience and defied the odds. Most notably, in May 2024, he proudly became the first patient in the world to participate in phase two of the AlphaBreak clinical trial. While it would have been easy to focus on the hardships, Phil instead chose to celebrate life and the small victories along the way. His treatments were often accompanied by fun T-shirts, props, signs, photos, and generous gifts of Seroogy’s meltaway bars for healthcare workers. Along the journey, valet drivers, restaurant staff, and hotel employees became friends; doctors, nurses, and fellow patients became family. Phil never fought alone—he was supported by an army of love, led by his devoted wife.

Phil’s passing is heartbreaking to all who knew him. His legacy lives on through the lessons he taught. In 2020, Phil, Noel, Madelyn, and Morgan committed to “celebrating every day” by following a holiday calendar and sharing daily posts of their celebrations on social media, touching countless people—including the team at National Day Calendar, who later interviewed them on their podcast. Phil believed deeply that “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” As a cancer warrior, he taught everyone how to face adversity with courage, determination, humor, and grace.

Phil is survived by his loving wife, Noel Resch; his stepdaughters, Madelyn and Morgan Hansel; his adult children, Jonathan and Kathryn; his siblings, Ann Brecklin (Richard), Dan Resch (Maurine), Joseph Resch (Mary), Gerard Resch (Julie), Nancy Drexler (Joseph), and Elizabeth Weiland (Dan); and many nieces, nephews, friends, colleagues, and his recently adopted puppy, Winnie. Phil was preceded in death by his parents and his loyal and beloved dog, Wall-E.

Phil’s family extends heartfelt thanks to those who guided him through his cancer journey: Drs. Eugene Kwon and Bradley Stish of Mayo Clinic; Dr. Oliver Sartor (formerly of Mayo Clinic); Dr. Vladimir Hugec of Minnesota Oncology; and Dr. Luke Nordquist of XCancer. The family offers special gratitude to Cancer Patient Lab, Find a Cure Panel, Emma Shtivelman of Cancer Commons for her tireless efforts in identifying clinical trial opportunities, and Dr. Matthew Hobbins of Aurora BayCare Medical Center for his exceptional care and compassion during Phil’s hospitalization.

Friends and family are invited to St. Matthew’s Catholic Church, 130 St. Matthew’s St., Green Bay, WI, for visitation on Friday, February 6, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., with a Funeral Mass to follow at 1:00 p.m. Burial will take place at Allouez Catholic Cemetery following the service.

A memorial fund has been established in Philip's honor.