Paul died in Seattle on February 10, 2002, after a long illness. He jumped at Cave Junction 1951-56, 1958, and at Redding in 1957.

Paul made up for his small size with a lot of determination and grit. He always carried his load on fires and packouts. All of us who jumped in those years knew him as "Pittsburg," which was always assumed to be his home town.

He enjoyed the camaraderie of smokejumpers and kept in touch with many of the jumpers until his recent illness. He always considered smokejumping to be the best years of his life. He made his last jump, a recreational jump, in 1995 in Kalispell during the 1995 smokejumper reunion.

Paul earned a BA in History from the University of Montana and worked for Boeing until his retirement several years ago. He had made his home in Seattle near the SeaTac airport since 1965. (Courtesy Jimmie Dollard)