Philip Alan Ziegelbaum's Obituary
Philip Alan Ziegelbaum was born in 1954, and grew up in NYC (the Bronx and Bayside Queens). He graduated from Queens College with a dual major in Computer Science and Mathematics, and received his Masters of Science Degree in Computer Science, also from Queens College. At that time, Computer Science was a new field, leading Phil to work in the computer industry (IT) starting in 1975. He first worked at the Scientific Computing Center at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, and then for the Edward K. Leaton Agency (affiliated with New England Life). In 1982, Phil moved to Richardson Texas for a job with E-Systems, which later became Raytheon. His career experience spanned multiple roles of programming, systems administration & user support, and eventually evolved into Project Management. He was known for his people skills, and keen attention to detail. Phil held one of the highest security clearances available to civilians during his tenor at E-Systems/Raytheon. Phil retired from Raytheon after 34 years of service. His NYC accent stayed with him his entire life, much to the amusement of his friends and coworkers.
Phil met his life partner, Susan Harrison at E-Systems, and they have been together since 1987. Susan traveled the pathways of life with Phil over several decades, sharing a myriad of pleasures and joys, and comforting one another during life’s sorrows and challenges. Phil and Susan especially enjoyed their traveling adventures, which Susan would completely plan, with Phil saying he was brought along to schlep all the bags. These trips gave Phil the opportunity to document these journeys with his photography skills.
Phil’s affinity for cars started at a young age, as his parents told him at the age of 3, he’d stand on the street corner and knew the models of all the cars that drove by. When people asked why he had two cars since 1984, his reply was since he can’t fit more into his garage. His cars carried the specialized license plate based on his nickname (ZIG and ZIG-E).
Phil often said his humor was what kept him going, and if he lost that he’d be screwed. He used this throughout the time he was dealing with pancreatic cancer, especially when treatments threw him some curveballs.
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