Paul Whitson

Obituary of Paul Garth Whitson

Paul Whitson

1941-2020

What can I say about one of the most wonderful men in my life. He is the love of my life, my soulmate and my best friend for over 37 years.

Paul was born in Nampa, Idaho on March 13, 1941 to Oscar Lee Whitson and Mary Irene (Blakeslee) Whitson. He has two siblings, a brother Don Whitson and a sister Linda Schaedig.

Paul married the love of his life, Sharon, on April 2,1983 and from that marriage had two children, Stephanie Crespi and Richard Mahan. In his first marriage to Patricia Whitson they had 2 children, Laura Whitson and Christopher Mayo.

He is survived by his loving wife Sharon, daughter Stephanie (Mike) Crespi, son Richard (Amber) Mahan, brother Don Whitson and sister Linda Schaedig,  grandchildren Kobe, Tea, Aliena and Austin, four great grandchildren, his Aunt Virginia, cousins, many nieces and nephews and far too many friends to to mention. 

He is preceded in death by his parents and two children, Laura and Christopher. I hope they are having a  reunion now in Heaven and talking about all the good times they shared.

Paul was in the military from 1959 to 1964. He was in the National Guard for two years and in the US Army for 3 years. Most of his service life was spent in France. He served his country with pride and honor and made sure his children always showed respect for our Country and our American Flag.

Paul worked for the State of Idaho Department of Administration for 38 years. He made many friends through those years and truly enjoyed the crew he worked with. In his early years with the State of Idaho he was often called Crazy Man Whitson. He held the job of changing the lights on the very top of the Capital building. He would swing around the dome of the Capital building with only a rope around his waist to change the lights around the Eagle while waiving at passerbyes. He LOVED it!!

Paul loved life. He loved his friends and family with all his heart! He never knew a stranger. He definately had the gift of gab, and trust me he used it!

He loved fishing, camping and nature. He also loved bird watching and hiking. Two of his passions were photography and art. When he ran out of wall space in our home he wanted to start hanging pictures on the ceiling, with which I balked.

I would like to send a special thank you to Dr. Timothy Nelson and his nurse Karen for all their excellent care throughout the years, Dr. Mathew Schwarz for being so straight forward with us and trying so hard to extend Paul's life, and St. Lukes Hospice for all they did to make his last days as comfortable as they possibly could. YOU GUYS ROCK!! God bless you all!!

From his children:

A Father is neither an anchor to hold us back or a sail to take us there, but a guiding light whose love shows us the way. We love you Dad and will miss you every day for the rest of our lives!!

I will love and miss you sweetie forever and always with all of my heart and soul until we are together again. My life will never be the same because YOU WERE MY LIFE! Don't you and dad catch all the big fish up there -Save some for me.

 

Your loving wife....Sharon 

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A Memorial Tree was planted for Paul
We are deeply sorry for your loss ~ the staff at Summers Funeral Homes - Ustick Chapel
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