Barbara Mary Paul

Barbara Mary Cyr Paul passed away April 8th 2025 at the age of 84. Barbara was born on June 11th, 1940 to Louis Cyr and Lottie Hilliard Cyr in Portland, PA. The family lived on The Slateford Farm, a historic national park and working farm, and were caretakers of the land which includes the house where William Penn’s cousin lived as well as a farm and 170 acres of land in the Pocono Mountains.

Barbara is preceded in death by her parents, Louis and Lottie Cyr, and her husband, Carl F. Paul.

Barbara is survived by her sister, Charlotte Cyr Jewell, who still resides on The Slateford Farm in Pennsylvania in the farmhouse where Barbara was born and both girls were raised. Her two daughters Beth and husband Barry Rinke; Kelly and husband Scott Redding, and her perfect and special daughter, Marnie Saylor Paul, all of Austin, TX. She is also survived by seven grandchildren: Braydon Rinke and wife Michelle, Ben Rinke and wife Anna, Haley Redding Andrade and husband Erick, Bo Rinke, Grace Redding, Behr Rinke and Lottie Redding. Her first great-grandchild, and the joy of the past year, Margaret Rinke, who turns one on April 17, the daughter of Braydon and Michelle Rinke.

Barbara was born and raised in Portland, PA and moved to Austin, Texas with Carl in 1973, but was always a Pennsylvania girl at heart. She started school early, in a one-room schoolhouse, because she begged her mother, Lottie, to take her to school with her where Lottie was the teacher. She went to East Stroudsburg High School and graduated at 16 years old. She then attended East Stroudsburg State University and graduated with a B.S. in Physical Education in 1961. Barbara was a phys ed teacher and eventually took a teaching and coaching position at Oneonta State University in New York. During the summer of 1964, she met Carl, a Texan, while he was working on a project in the Pocono Mountains. After Carl proposed on their first date, they spent 58 years of married life together.

From the time they were married, Barbara and Carl had the entrepreneurial spirit and dreamed of working for themselves. In 1967, a neighbor invited Carl to play golf for the first time. This outing sparked Carl’s interest in starting a golf company. Barbara didn’t ever doubt or hesitate to start the golf business. They lived in a two bedroom apartment when they decided to start Custom Golf Clubs (eventually, Golfsmith International) and they moved both daughters, Beth and Kelly, into their room – turning their daughters room into the golf shop. They were always proud of the fact that they started the business in one of the bedrooms of a two-bedroom apartment and turned it into a multi-million-dollar business with over 1,200 employees.

Carl used Barbara’s green stamps to buy a drill and built by hand most of the other equipment necessary to repair and make custom golf clubs. In 1970, Barbara and Carl sent out their first mailer offering the parts necessary to make custom golf clubs. This was the first catalog of its kind, which began the golf club components industry as it is known today. Eventually, the orders poured in faster than Barbara, Carl (who was still working in NYC) and eight part-time employees could handle, so Barbara and Carl offered his brother, Frank, one third ownership in the business if he would join them.

The first major decision the threesome made was to move the business to Texas. In 1973, they moved to Austin and began to map out a plan that would eventually lead to Golfsmith. Barbara was the quiet force behind a good man. She was the creative one, reminding the engineer to host employee parties, to have clubmakers from around the world stay in their home to learn the art of clubmaking, all while raising three girls – one with cerebral palsy. When the girls were in school, Barbara was at Golfsmith, working alongside Carl, Frank and Dorthy, Frank’s wife, who joined the business in 1974.

Barbara was incredibly close with all seven of her grandchildren and their spouses. They all have memories of “Baba” in her 1984 classic convertible Mercedes playing Michael Jackson on a cassette tape! They all knew her love of birds, butterflies, gardening and all of God’s creation. Barbara loved time with her family at their ranch in Dripping Springs, but even more so, she loved hosting everyone at her farmhouse in Pennsylvania. The rich soil provided lettuce, kale, tomatoes, peas, carrots, beets, potatoes and a peach tree that was so full of fruit it leaned over and touched the earth with it’s provision.

Barbara never stopped thinking about how to make Marnie’s life, and the lives of other people with special needs, better and more meaningful. She founded and ran a nonprofit called the Marnie Paul Arts Center from 1997-2002. The MPAC provided art, dance and music therapy to adults with disabilities. Barbara was constantly finding ways for Marnie to get involved and be a part of the Austin community: from working at Brookwood in Georgetown to attending classes at The ARC, to swim and music and dance therapies throughout the city.

Barbara and Carl were very philanthropic in the Austin community and beyond. She loved thinking of others, creating a special place at the entrance to Dell Children’s Hospital with the “Ball Machine”, and starting The Marnie Paul Specialty Care Center. Those were just two examples of her continued support of those in need.

Barbara found each caregiver for Marnie through a simple ad in the Austin American Statesman. She would provide a brief description of Marnie and the job and then simply state, “We are not looking for a nurse, we are looking for a nice person who wants to help Marnie”. Barbara had the gift of finding the most special humans on earth to pour love into her daughter Marnie, and in the past year, they shared that love through their care of her as well.

The family would like to thank everyone for their love, kindness and the sharing of all the special memories they had of Barbara. Most of all, the Pauls, Reddings and Rinkes are forever grateful for the endless love, support and tireless dedication provided by the amazing team of Marnie’s caregivers over the years: Lupe Alvarez, Greta Walsh, Yoshimi Masuo, Elvira Junuzovic, Patricia Bruno, Maria Morales and Mirna Gomez. These women shared their lives and their love with Marnie and Barbara for many years and they are the reason she was able to remain at home until her final breath. They are additionally thankful for the services provided by the Suncrest Hospice team, especially the care and love from Christy.

Barbara’s life will be celebrated on Wednesday, April 16, at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church at 4311 Small Dr., Austin, TX 78731. The funeral service will be held at 10:00 am with a reception following.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to:

Marnie Paul Specialty Care Center at Dell Children’s Hospital: www.supportdellchildrens.org

In honor of Barbara Paul: Marnie Paul Specialty Care Center

OR

Catholic Charities of Central Texas: www.ccctx.org/donate/