This month, Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors is pleased to introduce you to Bob and Patty Szipszky. Their strong faith and unwavering commitment to serving others are inspirational and admirable. The Szipszky’s story shows us that no matter your age or your stage in life, it’s never too late to dedicate yourself to serving God and our community.
Patty is originally from Warren, NJ, about 35 miles west of New York City. She grew up there with her parents, three brothers and one sister. Patty graduated from Watchung Hill Regional High School, where she was a member of the school’s band, color guard, and Catholic Youth Organization (CYO). She continued her education at Lafayette College, earning her degree in Economics and Business. “I also spent a semester at the London School of Economics in the fall of my Junior year,” Patty said.
When Patty graduated, she began working at Pricewaterhouse (now known as PwC) where she obtained her Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license. After a few years, she took a position with Saint-Gobain Corporation, where she took on many finance management roles with two of Saint-Gobain’s wholly-owned subsidiary companies, CertainTeed and Norton.
Today, Patty owns her own business, Beacon Point Prep, LLC. “I tutor high school students to help them prepare for the SAT/ACT college tests,” Patty explained. “I love seeing my students realize their potential, and I enjoy being a part of their journey in the college admission process.” Patty added that she sometimes feels like a psychologist, trying to understand what is getting in the way of students answering questions correctly. “I love seeing
students gain confidence in their abilities, which can translate to college and beyond.”
Bob is from Little Silver, NJ, also considered North Jersey, but is located roughly 38 miles southeast of Patty’s hometown. He lived there with his parents, an older sister and a younger brother. Bob attended Red Bank Regional High School, where he was involved in many extracurricular activities, including playing drums in the marching band and violin in the orchestra. “The musical push came from my mother, thankfully, because I can actually carry a tune!” he said. He surprised himself and many others when he was selected for the lead role in the musical GREASE as a senior. Bob was also involved with the Boy Scouts, and he worked his way up to earn an Eagle Scout Rank.
Bob’s high school stint in sports was a bit of a mixed bag. “I was atrocious at football as a Freshman but did well as a soccer goalie,” Bob readily admitted. “My brother Jim was the athlete who went on to play baseball in college. One of Jim’s baseball coaches recognized our unusual last name and asked if he played soccer.” Jim said no, but that his brother, Bob, had. The coach then told Jim that Bob held the NJ State Record for saves by a soccer goalie in one season. Bob laughed and said, “I had no idea, and never did see it in print, but I certainly enjoy my little claim to fame!”
After high school, Bob headed to Villanova University to pursue a degree in Accounting. He earned his degree and began his career with PwC where he earned his CPA license and worked with multinational companies in diverse sectors, including Technology, Health Care, Chemicals, Manufacturing,
Distribution and Services. “I enjoyed my time at PwC serving as a Global Engagement Partner for audit and non-audit clients,” Bob explained. “I also had the opportunity to spend five years living and working abroad as a partner in Singapore and as a manager in Birmingham, England.” Bob retired in 2017 after 31 years at PwC, 18 of which he served as Partner.
It’s fairly safe to assume that Bob and Patty, both CPAs in the financial world, certainly know a thing or two about deductive reasoning. In logic and mathematics, to deduce means to derive conclusions from known facts using logical reasoning. In this case, we have a scenario where it’s logical to conclude that PwC + PwC = Love, right?
Correct! Bob and Patty’s love story began at PwC back in 1988. “I have to admit that I was a bit foolish, or perhaps somewhat arrogant when, prior to our first date, I asked Patty to memorize the starting five players on the 1985 Villanova University Championship Men’s Basketball team,” Bob said. “Lucky for me, Patty humored my request, and we spent our first date at the Palestra at UPenn to watch a basketball game.”
“Bob and I dated for a few years before we got married in 1992,” Patty explained. It was a beautiful Mass in Warren, NJ, in the old chapel of my childhood parish, Our Lady of the Mount.” It was especially meaningful because Patty’s great-grandparents were one of the first three settlers in Warren, helped to build Our Lady of the Mount and donated a baptismal font that was used to baptize Bob and Patty’s three boys.
The newlyweds honeymooned on the island of St. Croix. “We stayed at a gorgeous resort called The Buccaneer,” said Patty. “We played golf and tennis and did all sorts of water sports and other activities. When we checked out, after looking at our receipt, the front desk clerk said, “My you two have been busy!”
After the honeymoon, Patty and Bob bought a home in King of Prussia. They loved their adorable split-level home and their neighborhood, but it wasn’t long before Bob was offered an oppor- tunity to transfer to Birmingham, England. They packed their bags in August 1993 and spent their first wedding anniversary in Wales. It was in Birmingham that Patty decided to go back to school to earn her MBA from Aston University.
Just a short time later, Bob’s work had the couple heading back to the US to spend time in Hartford, CT where they settled down for a few years and welcomed two of their sons, Michael and Jack. But it wasn’t long before the little guys needed passports, because this family of four was headed to Singapore in Southeast Asia. “We lived in Singapore for three years,” Bob explained. “Our son, Brian, was born there – but considered an illegal alien until we could get his passport.” Explaining his actual date of birth was a bit challenging, too. Patty said that Brian was born in Singapore in the morning of March 22nd, which was the evening of March 21st in the United States. “Bob sent an email to our families telling them that Brian was born,” Patty recalled. “It was funny because they received the email on March 21st announcing Brian’s birth the next day!”
By this time, Patty and Bob had a five-year-old, a three-year-old and a three-month-old. “We loved living in Singapore, but we wanted our children to know what it was like to grow up in America,” Patty said. “Bob was working back in Philadelphia, so we started looking for a home in the suburbs.” They wanted to live close enough to the airport for Bob’s travel and when they found a home in Springton Pointe Estates, they knew it was the
perfect place to raise their family.
The Szipszkys moved into their forever home in July of 2002, though their family wasn’t complete quite yet. Bob and Patty felt a calling and a strong desire to adopt a child. Their prayers were answered when they got the call to adopt a little girl born in Perm, Russia. “We welcomed our daughter Natasha, whose name means, “Born on Christmas,” to our family in December 2004,” Bob and Patty explained. “Natasha’s first full day in America was Christmas Day. God is so good!”
Not many couples can say they have four children born on three different continents, but Bob and Patty can. In addition to that impressive fact, the Szipszky kids are striving to do their best and serve others, just like their parents.
Michael is Patty and Bob’s oldest son. He attended St. Mary Magdalen (St. Mary’s) for grade school, Malvern Prep High School and earned his undergraduate degree in Economics from Purdue University. After graduation, Michael served in the US Army for four years as a Captain in Field Artillery. He is currently attend- ing Darden Business School at the University of Virginia and will graduate with his MBA next spring. He’s an avid golfer and skier. Michael is married now to his wife, Brooke, and they are expecting a baby girl in November: Bob and Patty’s first grandchild!
Jack is their second-born son who also went to St. Mary’s, Malvern Prep and Purdue University. Jack earned his degree in Computer Science and worked at Booz Allen Consulting until the US Air Force sent him to helicopter pilot training in Alabama as a 1st Lieutenant. Jack is now training on the Osprey Helicopter in Kirtland, New Mexico. Like his dad, Jack was a Boy Scout and earned his Eagle Scout rank. He is recently married to Mikayla, whom he met in college. Mikayla is also on active duty stationed in the Space Force as an Electronic Warfare Officer, in Colorado Springs.
Bob and Patty’s third son, the one whose date of birth is a hot topic of discussion, is Brian. Like his older brothers, Brian attended St. Mary’s and Malvern Prep. Although Brian did not go to Purdue, he decided to make it easy on his parents since they were so used to driving back and forth to Indiana, by attending The University of Notre Dame. He recently graduated with degrees in Economics and Applied Computational Math and Statistics. Brian is a proud member of the US Navy as a newly commissioned Ensign. He chose to be stationed in Norfolk, VA so he could be close to home and his long-time girlfriend. Brian loves the outdoors and enjoys hiking, skiing and snowboarding and is also an Eagle Scout.
Natasha is a rising senior at the University of South Carolina pursuing a degree in Psychology with minors in English and Criminology. She is spending her summer as an Intern at the Social Enrichment Center in Media. Natasha also went to St. Mary’s, then The Walden School before graduating from Sacred Heart Academy. Natasha loves to travel and spent a semester studying in Barcelona during her Junior year. Natasha is the family vacation vlogger and always has them in tears laughing when they watch her describe their family vacations from her perspective.
When they’re not busy with school and work, Bob, Patty and the kids enjoy staying active and traveling. Patty has been the head tennis coach at Sacred Heart Academy for the past seven years, with Bob joining her as assistant coach. Bob enjoyed coaching the boys’ baseball teams in CYO at St. Mary’s and at Newtown Edgmont Little League (NELL), where he served a few years as President of the Board of Directors along with many
fellow volunteers.
For the Szipszkys, their Catholic faith is the foundation of their family. They share a perspective on life that reflects their commitment. “To whom much is given, much will be expected. Faith first, serve others, work hard, play hard, and show gratitude.” Bob and Patty have been active members at St. Mary Magdalen Parish since 2002, volunteering their time and talents to the school, the church and the community. Bob serves as a School Board
Member at St. Mary’s and is also on the Finance Committee for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Office of Catholic Education. He volunteers weekly at the St. Francis Inn in Kensington, which provides job placement support, and thrift store services along with basic health care services and meals, while Patty regularly volunteers at AlphaCare, a pregnancy center in West Philadelphia. Bob’s support of Catholic Education extends to Neumann
University in Aston where he teaches in the business school.
Most recently, the Szipszky family gathered to celebrate an impressive accomplishment and call to service by Bob. On June 8th, after a seven-year formation process, that included earning a Master of Arts degree in Theology from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Bob was ordained as a Permanent Deacon for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The ordination took place at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul during Mass celebrated by Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez. Bob is now serving at his family’s parish. He said, “Our new Pastor, Fr. Eric Banecker describes that any Catholic parish is to be a community of worship, evangelization and service,” Bob added. “We’re all in this together, striving to serve God and each other, to go forth and bear much fruit, each with our different talents. I’m blessed to be serving at St. Mary Magdalen.”
Father Eric shared his thoughts on Bob’s assignment to St Mary’s. “Deacon Bob’s ordination has rightly been a cause for celebration for our parish. It represents just one more example of his fami- ly’s steadfast service to our community.” Bob explained that the process of becoming a Permanent Deacon involved a firm commitment from his wife. “Without Patty’s full support and approval, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia would not have accepted me as a Deacon Candidate,” he explained.
Patty attended many classes and workshops with Bob over the course of the formation process, during which they said they experienced immense personal development and guidance from now retired Pastor Monsignor Ralph Chieffo, other candidates and their wives, professors and clergy. Bob said that the details of his service to St. Mary’s will become more clear in the weeks and months to come. “I’ll be serving in support of our new
Pastor, Father Eric Banecker,” Bob explained. One aspect already defined is that Bob, with Patty’s support – and taking guidance from Father Eric – will lead the program that teaches the Catholic faith to adults who are preparing to become Catholic, referred to as RCIA. Bob added, “It will be fun to serve on a team helping others learn about the beauty of our Catholic Faith and I will be learning, too. We can all count on the power of the Holy Spirit to impel us to start out anew as Saint John Paul II said.”
On behalf of your Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors, we extend a heartfelt and well-deserved congratulations to you, Deacon Robert J. Szipszky, for your commitment to sharing your faith and guidance with our community. We also thank you, Patty and the kids, for sharing your story of how hard work, service to the community and our country, and mixing in some family fun make for a fulfilling, meaningful and memorable life.
Do you know a Newtown Square family, individual or nonprofit group who should become known by our community? Make your nominations for
upcoming feature articles by emailing your ideas to Sheila Turner-Hilliard at STurnerHilliard@BestVersionMedia.com.