Paul R. Wilson

Paul R. Wilson died unexpectedly on the morning of September 27, 2014. Paul was born March 2, 1932 to Lillian and Charles Wilson. He grew up in Santa Rosa, California and Beaverton, Oregon and graduated from Beaverton High School. After high school, he was admitted to the University of Oregon which was the beginning of a lifelong devotion to the Ducks and a on-going love of being an Oregon alum. While in high school, Paul considered a career as a cartoonist. He was a talented artist and contributed the drawings to his high school yearbook. When his children were born he designed their birth announcements with humor and creativity. After deciding the life of a cartoonist might not enable him to provide for a family, Paul settled on architecture combining his love for drawing and his keen ability to understand design. At the University, Paul became a member of the fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon and remained close to some of his fraternity brothers for many years after college. During his sophomore year at Oregon Paul was set up on a blind date with Verna Shillington: they married soon after and eventually had three children. Paul was a member of the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corp. From 1953-1956, Paul was in active duty with the Air Force as a fighter-interceptor pilot. While serving in active duty he and Verna lived in Arizona, New York and Texas. He loved his time as a pilot. After graduating from U of O in 1959, Paul was one of three of forty applicants to successfully pass the Oregon Architecture Exam the first time. After becoming a registered architect in 1962, Paul started an architecture firm with a partner in Eugene, Oregon while he and Verna began their family. Eventually, the family moved to Beaverton and then to Lake Oswego where they moved into a house Paul designed and built himself. Verna and Paul were proud of the unique design characteristics of their home. During his career Paul worked at several architecture firms in Portland and on many hospital and school building projects throughout the Portland Area. He was a proud member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) as well as a member of the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) as a certified construction specifier. He was a devoted TriMet passenger, traveling to work by bus everyday into Portland. His family even discovered several old TriMet tickets in his wallet after he died. Paul was an avid golfer and member of a men\u0027s golf club for decades. He always claimed his game was getting worse but kept at it and enjoyed his time on the course with friends. He was an opera buff and enjoyed occasional trips to hear Portland Opera perform any of the romantics, particularly Verdi and Puccini, his favorites. In his final years, Paul was a devoted father and grandfather. Although his eyesight failed toward the end of his life he still made an effort to visit and be involved in the lives of his grandchildren, learning how to email the grandchildren in Indiana and attending school events of the grandchildren in Oregon. Paul kept up his friendships by attending annual Easter gatherings at the Oregon Coast and he had season tickets to Ducks football games and track meets, something he always looked forward to. Verna died in 1986. Paul is survived by his children Regina (Jeff Nixa) Wilson, Tim Wilson and Sonya (Eric) Maxey and their children Andree and Aimee Wilson-Nixa, and Jamie and Jacob Maxey, as well as his sisters Sylvia (Dean) Aulerich and Willie (Joe Pogan) Willworth and his five nieces and nephews. Donations in Paul\u0027s memory may be made to the University of Oregon School of Architecture. Paul will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him."",