Dr. Joseph Andrew Paull, 82, of Morgantown, passed away Sunday Oct. 17, 2020, following a five year illness and lengthy battle with esophageal cancer issues, COPD, and pneumonia.
Dr. Paull “Joe” was born in Uniontown, Pa., on Sept. 21, 1938, the eldest son of Fuller Tilghman “F.T.” and Irene Emma Shimmel Paull, of Coolspring, Fayette County, Pa. Preceding him in death is his first wife, Charlotte Miller Paull, of Pittsburgh; his beloved parents, F.T. and Irene; and an older sister, Elizabeth Ann Paull, who died in 1940. Also preceding him in death are two sisters-in-law, Evelyn R. Wojcik, of Glen Burnie, Md., and Janet K. Streets, of Martinsburg; and five brothers-in-law, James miller and Kent Miller, both of Pittsburgh, Wayne Goodwin, of Texas, John Wojcik, of Glen Burnie, Md., and Allen Owens, of Cambridge, Md.
Survivors include his wife, Eleanor Males Grubbss-Paull, of Morgantown; his “adopted” children, stepdaughter, Jessica Grubbs-Miller; grandson, Jacob Miller and his wife Stacy Miller and great-granddaughter Alani Lola Miller, of Montgomery, N.Y.; two granddaughters, Josie Presutti Fasce’ and her partner Dion Fasce’; great-granddaughter Eluna Rayne Fasce’, of Walkill, N.Y., and Mackaully Presutti Parada and her husband Juan Parada, of Gainsville, Fla.; one stepson, Ben Grubbs and his wife Kelly Grubbs and three granddaugters, Asthon, India and Isabella Grubbs, of Burlington; one sister, Sue Miller Goodwin, of New Wilmington, Pa.; his niece, Kristin Miller and great-nephews, Jacob and Jared Miller; nephew, Scott Miller and his wife Christy; great-nephew, Scotty Miller; great-niece, Taylor Miller; two great-great-nieces, Alyvia and Jaxyn Mikec and great-great-nephew, Braden McFalls, of McDonald, Pa.; and lastly, his brother, John and sister-in-law, Debbie Paull, nephew, Ryan Slaughter, and great-niece, Autumn Slaughter, of Sadler, Texas.
Additional close family includes sister-in-law, June Owens and niece Cathy Ann Tolley, of Salisbury Md. and Ireland, respectively; sister-in-law, Juanita Fridley and her husband Fritz Fridley, of Glen Burnie, Md., and nephew Billy Barb and great-niece Elizabeth Barb, of Ocean City, Md.; nephew, Joe Barb and great-nephew, Jaden Barb; niece, Vickie Streets Greenfield and husband Roger, brother-in-law, James Streets, of Martinsburg; niece, Heather Streets Tomlinson and her husband Christopher, great-niece, Allie Hindmarsh, son Lukah and great-nephew Maxx Males; brother-in-law, Wayne Males and wife Karen, niece, Shelly Males Morrealle and her husband Mike, great-niece Jenna Morrealle and great-nephew Michael Morrealle, of Severna Park, Md. Joe always felt blessed to have our combined large family. Lots of great family memories accompanied him on his spiritual journey. Joe was indeed a great role model for the entire family.
Joe’s early years were delightfully spent in Coolspring, Pa. where he grew up, and his spiritual beliefs were the result of many years in the Lutheran Church, learning the doctrines that provided him with a sound belief in our interconnections with spirit. His belief in God and his promise of eternal life sustained him as he awaited his departure. He left us knowing that someday we all will be united with him again. Joe was the ultimate husband, stepfather, uncle, grandfather and friend to all of his extended family and friends. He never missed an opportunity to celebrate their achievements and often provided monetary support for their educational journeys. He loved learning and reading and never passed a book he didn’t like. He was an avid reader and a great crossword puzzle solver. But aside from reading and doing puzzles, Joe was hooked on sports. There was always a game somewhere and he would often search the channels for another viewing of his favorite teams, the Steelers, Pirates and Mountaineers, even if he had already viewed the game in real time.
Dr. Paull’s early educational experiences set the stage for the rest of his life experiences. Growing up with a principal as his father and teacher as his mother, he had a deep respect for education, and he excelled. He attended elementary and secondary schools in Uniontown, Pa., graduating from North Union High School Class of 1956, and from there entered college at California State where he earned a B.S. degree in math and science. After doing his undergraduate work in California, Joe returned to Uniontown, Pa., and accepted a job teaching math and science to junior high school students, but it didn’t take long for him to be selected as the assistant superintendent of schools where he worked as a title one administrator and began to pursue his master’s degree at West Virginia University. The lure of the Space Program attracted his interest, so he applied to be a teacher for NASA. He felt that he was at the height of his career, but once he relocated to NASA, he discovered the job wasn’t as dreamy as he thought it would be. He loved teaching and he liked having science classes to teach about the Space Program. However, the job was very demanding and he was forced to travel a lot and meet new students nearly every day. He longed to be back home and back in a regular classroom, so he returned to West Virginia University to work on his doctorate. In 1973, once he returned and completed his doctorate in administration, almost immediately, he applied and was hired for a job with the newly formed RESA (Regional Education Service Agency) and began working in Region VII which was made up of the counties that included Monongalia, where his office was located. He loved his job as assistant director because he provided support services to all the teachers and service personnel within the region, doing staff development and providing support to country superintendents. He also worked closely with the West Virginia Department of Education, which provided many additional enriching opportunities. Additionally, he worked as an adjunct professor at West Virginia University, where he taught graduate classes for educational administration. This job served him well until he retired in 1999, and he and wife Eleanor took residence in Morgantown, where they currently reside. Joe loved teaching adults and he enjoyed helping teachers and administrators make West Virginia Schools reach new levels in school improvement.
From an early age, Joe was interested in civic involvement. Throughout his lifetime, he was also community oriented, so, upon retirement, he continued to hold offices in many professional organizations, many of which he dearly loved. He served in the JayCees and Kiwanis during his years in Uniontown, Pa., and also held top offices in Suncrest Kiwanis, both at the local and state levels. He continued to be an active volunteer in RedCross blood drives, assisting the cooks at Salvation Army, serving on the board of Goodwill and many other organizations too numerous to mention. To many students and community leaders, Joe was often known as Mr. Spelling Bee, where he took the job as pronouncer for the local and regional spelling bee events. He loved that job so much that he was heartbroken when he discovered that his hearing loss was too great to continue, so he stepped down. However, it wasn’t long until he discovered OLLI of WVU and it was there that he followed his passion and began a whole new teaching career, developing and teaching adult classes in bluegrass music.
Osher Learning, or OLLIE of WVU, is currently operating at the old Mountaineer Mall, where many retired teachers and lovers of learning come together to enjoy learning new things and discovering new interests. Dr. Joe loved his bluegrass classes almost as much as he loved learning and making new friends in retirement. He had a huge group of followers throughout the area who came to Joe with questions about this art form. He loved playing guitar and sharing his vast knowledge of bluegrass music with family and friends. His influence on the younger family members was very profound. He went above encouragement and sought to hook them on music, and they willingly followed.
Joe’s family would like to express their sincere gratitude to the doctors and nurses at UPMC, Mon Health Medical Center, J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital, the Mary Babb Cancer Center and the Hospice Center at WVU for the excellent care and compassion shown to Joe during his frequent hospitalizations, including helping him make the decision to be a body donor and will his body to WVU for further study research and organ donations. Special gratitude to friend, Dr. Jim Culberson for helping to support Eleanor in granting Joe’s wish to become a donor.
As a final directive, Joe wanted to thank his family and friends for their understanding with regard to COVID concerns that he chose not to have a funeral or public viewing but would indeed be with us in spirit for a celebration of his life sometime in the Spring. Family and friends will be given proper notification of the final date, place and time of the event at a later date.
Joe left us knowing and believing that we will someday be reunited in Heaven. He wanted his final memory of family and friends to include the knowledge that they were loved and would be missed. He wanted them to remember the good times and the joy he had from their friendship and love.
The family will remember him as a loving husband, father, brother, cousin, uncle, grandfather and, most of all, friend.
In lieu of flowers or other expressions of love, Joe requested that you choose WVU Hospice, OLLI of WVU, and the Human Gift Registry of WVU with your donations in his honor.
