Lynn Knight Puget Sound - Paul and Brady had come to visit us and we took a (typically gloomy) day trip to a little town on the Sound. Paul had a deep, ongoing respect for and awareness of the physical world, right down to the pebbles on this beach.
Lynn Knight Paul and Brady met us in Las Cruces and along with my brothers Karl, Tony and Tony's boys, we went to the Petroglyphs outside of town. Check out the weird shadows he and my brother Tony cast on the rocks.
Lynn Knight He's smiling in this Venetian restaurant, and you'd never know that his back was giving him a lot of grief. Yet all through our family trip in Italy, Paul stayed buoyant. He loved sitting in outdoor cafes, glass of vino in hand, to watch the passersby. Once when Brady and I left him at a cafe so we could reconnoiter nearby shoe shops, we returned to find him being serenaded by a Slavic street band (he'd purchased two of their CDs).
We were in a Florence restaurant that specialized in Tuscany game - I recall the menu had veal brains and pigeon. Braeden and I ordered pasta, but Paul, who was so picky and conservative about his food preferences, surprised us by ordering roast pigeon. The pigeon dish took forever to be prepared - we joked that the waiters were out on the street...
Jeff Schatz Paul was my friend. Paul was devoted scientist, a inquisitive artist, but most of all, a genuinely good human being. Paul loved his two sons immensely and would get a twinkle in his eye every time he spoke about George and Henry. Paul’s heart was made whole when Braeden joined his family - when we were together, Paul would always find himself sharing a story about something special Brady would do that filled him with joy. Paul made others feel good, loved and sometimes furious in a way that made you laugh inside. Paul would listen to your rants, your raves and your tirades and really hear what you were feeling - then offer a kind word to put it all into a proper perspective. If you ever needed a hand, you would know that Paul was there with support, an idea, or the shirt off his back. If you were ever the fortunate ‘victim’ of one of Paul’s jokes - you would know how all three feelings would combine in a slow dry punchline. It was fun to share life experiences with Paul. Whether it was a concert, a festival, a play, a trip to Miller Park, a weekend getaway - they were always made better with Paul’s humor sprinkled in. I recently remember his ‘unique euphoria’ of finding the kombucha booth in Minneapolis.......(photo attached). To write this in reflection and in past tense makes me recognize how much we all have lost and the friends we must continue to hold close....but also to realize how much Paul is still and will always remain within my memories. Paul was our friend.
George Otto My dad loved experiencing the incredible beauty of nature. He also possessed an overwhelming fear of flying off the edge of a winding mountain road while experiencing said incredible beauty. The tension between these competing passions was especially clear during our trips to Yosemite National Park in California. While we may have disagreed over how scary the drive into the park was, or how fast to drive around certain bends in the road, we shared in awe at the breathtaking vistas, lakes, meadows, waterfalls, forests and valleys within the park. These trips were always too short, and by the time my dad called me to say he'd gotten back home safely, he was already planning our next adventure. Words cannot express how much these trips meant to me, or how grateful I am to have shared those experiences with my dad. Yosemite will always be a special place for me and him.
Shally Margolis A lovely Christmas hike around the arboretum.
Some of my first memories of Paul were from Christmas many many years ago. Paul was fourteen years older than me so back when I was, oh...... I don’t know, maybe five or six I suppose, which would have made Paul around 19 or 20 at the time of those first memories. He would come over with uncle Vern and aunt Titter after midnight mass on Christmas E...
Paul had presence. I recall a late summer BBQ in our backyard which was getting off to a slow start and from the comfort of an armchair he bellowed “What the hell is going on!” which perfectly described the situation. What could I say? This man was already a legend, one who protested with cardboard cut-outs of palm trees at the Wisconsin State Cap...
Paul and Braedy were in the Seattle area visiting with family. One evening, he and I had a lengthy conversation about investments: long-term returns, growth opportunities, behavioral finance, and on and on and on. After what seemed like an hour to me, probably four to Paul, he smirked, got up, and wandered off. Must have been seven years later, ...
Paul was a great companion on road trips. No matter how well you thought you knew an area - Paul was way ahead of you. He did his homework and he knew how to drive to places that we had never heard of. Always knew the history of them, too. Made everything more interesting.
George Otto Introducing Dad to the concept of selfies
Paul was an amazing guy! The few times I got to speak with him left a resounding impression on me and my brother Brandon. We all talked about our Native American ancestry, his and ours, and he had several funny stories about us and Tony (whom he warmly referred to as his "uncle"). He may no longer be here in one way, but as evidence from th...
Braeden Butler Spotted Dog in Mesilla with Vato Otto
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