From Paul's Memorial Service
My good friend, Paul, how we were so different yet crafted a life-long friendship.

The first day of kindergarten over 60 years ago I was introduced to Paul.  I didn’t take note of our introduction at the time but should have, as our lives have intertwined and comingled ever since.

Paul was everything I was not, so now upon reflection it comes as a great surprise to me how well we fit together.  Maybe he was just working his personal magic on me, slowly chipping away my limitations, molding me.

Paul was, among other things really smart, but he didn’t make you feel inferior.

• Widely read and literarily broad; books were his refuge.
• Grammatically punctual; grammar and punctuation mattered .
• He loved music and claimed that listening to one hour of music daily was good therapy, and was a threshold he met regularly.  He also played an instrument in the high school band.
• Loved water; in it, on it or near it.
• A Boy Scout with a love for the outdoors; hiking and camping were high on his list of fun activities.
• Specifications mattered to him.  Whether it was high fidelity equipment or vehicles.  For instance, this past winter I struggled with some viral and bacterial infections which limited physical contact with Paul, but Connie and I were able to have dinner out with Paul and Janelle in February.  I drove and as Paul climbed into the cab of my newish pickup he asked what size engine it had.  I didn’t know, still don’t but the message was clear I had failed in some important manner.

There was nothing in our grade school, junior high or high school years that was noteworthy or would predict our lasting friendship; our lives would intersect from time to time but not significantly.  Our common denominator at that time was mostly just geography.

I left Mt. Pleasant and when I returned Paul was a student of journalism developing his craft by reporting for CMU Life, the university rag.  His love of photography was also nurtured at CMU.  He graciously shared his knowledge of the art photography dark room; photography was an area of common interest but I was never his match.  His interest, enthusiasm and skill for photography was a lifelong endeavor and he produced some really high quality photos.  At one point he even convinced Janelle that a basement dark room would be a good idea. 

Paul’s career in journalism progressed to where he became an editor for the Saginaw News.  A job he did well, because he loved words and how they go together in nuanced ways to elicit just the exact meaningdesired.  In my experience, he was never defined by his work.  He was a journalist and excelled at it, but life for Paul was meant for living and living meant family and friends; he had an abundance of friends.  I knew Paul well during his professional career but never could I keep up with all his various friend groups….. there was his dart competition friends, his hiking friends, his kayak friends, his football game friends, his work associated friends and just friends because he liked people….there was just a lot of friends; a testament to his likeability and interests.  

Part of having all these friends was teaching us all the value of play in a well-rounded life.  Paul was always playing games.  In college we played Euchre, he played darts, bocce ball, Sequence and Mexican Trainas a sampling.  He enjoyed games but I think the more important piece was the social aspect of game playing. He was infectious, drawing us in and we always wanted more of his large personality.

Earlier I mentioned kayaking and his love of water so no discussion of Paul would be complete without touching upon rivers and kayaking.  All serious athletes know that hydration when exercising is extremely important and Paul was no exception.  Every float down the river required hydration and hydration involved the Bubba Keg, filled to the top with his favorite river beverage, placed firmly between his legs for quick access.

I’m sorry but it’s now time for some serious topics.  Paul had one son, Eric.  Eric, your dad was so proud of you and proud of his grandchildren. He was always quick with a story about camping, school or athletics; for me it was easy listening; how could it not be with Paul beaming with pride.  His stated approach was to have a parent relationship, but keep it non-judgmental. There is a good story he told me about your relationship; how you shared something with him that was really important to you, but for him it involved a little too much sharing. He wondered out loud “why is he sharing this with me?”  It was because you could without being judged.

Paul’s choice to marry Janelle was genius.  The perfect match, a companion, mate, caregiver, teammate, ….whatever the need, you were there to be the glove for his hand.  It worked both ways too, and although you may not appreciate it while living it, those of us on the outside could see how Paul nurtured the relationship; you mattered deeply to him.  You both were so compatible, a perfectly loving couple with common interests.  

As noted earlier, Paul loved hiking and it was one of our common interests. We hiked often in our college days and I know that Paul always enjoyed getting outside. I wanted to hike the Grand Canyon. My brother was supposed to be my hiking partner but had to cancel.  I approached Paul with a pretty good offer.  He would have to cover his food and airfare and I covered everything else; basically all the lodging and the car rental.  The hike is 7.5 miles down and 9 miles up and he would have to carry a 20 pound backpack.  Paul trained diligently and learned how to tape his feet to keep blisters at bay.  He dieted losing 20 pounds but was still on the heavy side but we were ready for the challenge.

Of course going down is the easy part, but even going down he struggled some.  On the way up the next day he sent me ahead, said he would be fine; he didn’t want to be a burden to my vacation.  At the midpoint going up there was a thermometer reading 115 in the sun….we were always in the sun.  I made it to the top and waited.  I had lunch, I took the shuttle to the car and dropped off my backpack, I went through some shops at the summit.  I waited.  It started to get dark, I waited some more.  Hikers are coming up the trail with headlamps and I still waited.  Finally, at a loss I call 911 and they transfer me to the Grand Canyon 911.  I tell them who I am and who I’m looking for and the lady says “we got him”.  He couldn’t get past the oasis at the midway point.  He was spent and used the telephone there to request assistance. They had sent an EMT down to check on him because of his prior heart history. He would be spending the night at the oasis better known as Indian Gardens and would be hiking out in the morning.  

The next morning I hiked down to greet him and offered to carry his pack.  No way was he going to let me carry his pack.  We hiked out and at the summit the Grand Canyon employee who first contracted him after his call for help was also just getting to the summit as Paul and the EMT arrived.  This picture is of Paul, triumphant along with his two trail angels, the park employee who first contacted Paul at Indian Gardens and the EMT that kept him safe.  In hindsight it was a bad idea to have him attempt this hike, but we made it and the look of jubilation on his face brings a smile to me every time.

And finally as I hop scotch around Paul’s life I want to turn back to his career and how we can honor his contributions to a free press during his work life.  

First of all Paul’s career in journalism was cut short by a confluence of events; bad lending practices by banks and subprime lenders and the creative destruction of the internet culminating in the Great Recession.  With each problem comes an opportunity and that opportunity was to provide care and support for his aging mother.  I believe it was every Wednesday, and sometimes more often, that he would make the trip to Mt. Pleasant to visit his mom, take her shopping and to medical appointments.  He was a good son.

Paul always said that books were to be held and read.  Reading from aiPad or computer was diminishing of the experience.  The same was true of newspapers, they must be held in your hands to appreciate the true value.  If any of you want to honor Paul today, I urge you to go buy a print newspaper.  Hold it in your hands, feel the pages with your fingers, hear the rustle of the pages and read the words with your eyes.  Only in this manner, he felt, can one fully appreciate the full value of the news. Even after his retirement from the Saginaw News he continued to subscribe for home delivery, to read the news as it was intended to be read and to support those at the Saginaw News still trying to scrape together a living from traditional journalism that was so heavily damaged by the recession and the paradigm shift we recognize as the internet.

Thank you

Obituary: 

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/ourmidland/name/paul-rau-obituary?id=9586927