During high school summers, he worked at Broughton Lumber Co.’s sawmill in Willard, Washington, with his dad and brothers. He attended Clark College but returned to Underwood and the mill after marrying Debra Hodge in 1971.

His wife left, but the kids stayed, and Paul returned to college, where he discovered he had a knack for computers. He began working at Treaty Oak Community College in The Dalles, Oregon, in 1982. He was not accredited to teach, but he ran their computer lab and helped many students get comfortable with technology.

More importantly, Paul kindly and patiently taught the college staff to use computers. He selected and purchased the hardware and software that brought the fledgling institution now known as Columbia Gorge Community College into the computer age. He was their one-man IT department.

Once Paul took that first step with his prosthetic leg, there was no stopping him. He loved music, but didn’t play, so he danced. He loved the outdoors, so he farmed his place in Underwood, raised lambs, rode horses, sailed his boat and managed to do ‘most everything he wanted to do. He was no quitter, and he didn’t complain.

Paul’s love of farming and the natural world led him to serve on the Underwood Conservation District Board of Supervisors for many years, eventually earning him recognition by the Washington Association of Conservation Districts in 2018, when he was awarded the Eugene Schloz Outstanding Supervisor Award.

Unfortunately, that was the year he was diagnosed with the rare and aggressive prostate cancer that eventually took him, but not without a fight. Paul fought valiantly and without complaint.

Paul was predeceased by his parents and sister, Cecilia (Paul) Stone. He is survived by his wife Sally; son Jason Hodge; daughter Melanie (Matt) Marx; daughter Claire (Robert) Graper; son Colin (Lurel) Smith; grandsons Kamryn Ruthardt Newell, Jonathan Graper and Zane Smith; granddaughters Ilaina Smith and Grace Julian; sister Sharon (Jim) Bryan; brother Tim (Karen) Newell; sister Jayne (Scott) Allen; brother Lester (Shelly) Newell; and nieces, nephews and grandnieces and grandnephews — he loved each one. And so many dear friends! His oversized heart drew people to him.

Family and friends will gather at the Underwood Community Center to celebrate Paul on November 15, the day after what would have been his 75^th birthday. There will be a potluck, a slideshow, tributes, and music — not necessarily in that order. Please bring a dish to share to help celebrate a true Underwood original.