Paul J Heins

With great gratitude for the rich life I have experienced, I leave it with the thought that I wouldn’t have missed it for the Universe. I leave it with love and affection to Loita and Delbert, my parents, for making it possible for me to experience this wonderful ride. I have played my role in this stage play that has been running for hundreds of thousands of years and now, I have died. I leave this auto-obituary to leave these last words.

I was a “present” to my mom when I was born on her birthday in 1934. That was the beginning. I became part of a loving family that included grandparents, uncles and aunts, my loving brother Ron and many cousins. Life was good from the start, and it just got better.

I was married to two wonderful wives, Rita and Joyce. I had a second childhood/life with the finest two sons any father could hope to have, Russell and Bradley. I had the privilege of being part of the lives of patients, students, colleagues and friends. I am grateful to my core for the experiences this life has given me while I practiced, taught, hiked, skied, biked, sailed, flew, jogged, photographed, cooked, painted, exercised and traveled.

My “work” life began when I was graduated from Lincoln High School and continued as I served four years in the Coast Guard as a Hospital Corpsman, received a DDS degree from the University of Washington in 1962, interned in the USPHS, received an MSD degree in Periodontics in 1965, established a private practice and was a member of the faculty in the Dental School at UW. In 1975 I became chairman of the Department of Periodontology at the University of Florida and retired from there in 1998.

If there is one word that would define me, it would be the adjective “curious”. I always wanted to know the why and the how of things from the Universe on down to the function of cells. Of my talents I had an artistic bent. Of my personality, life was to be savored without rancor and conflict. I was a lot like my dad who I was very close to, frugal, steady, organized, goal-oriented, appreciative, body-health conscious and a saver for a rainy day.

As the years passed, I became increasingly appreciative of what had come to me during my life. Now, at its end, I am filled with gratitude for the people I have known and loved and the experiences I savored with them. I’ve had a wonderful ride. It was a grand pageant. I say “goodbye and I love you” to my wonderful wife Joyce Winn, my incredibly fine two sons Russ and Brad and my grandchildren Chelsee and Bradley.