Paul Joseph Cable

Paul is survived by his devoted spouse Connie Sodero as well as his loving daughters Krista Cable (Montreal) and Karen (Gordon) Boyd (Halifax) and stepdaughter Tamara (Ryan) Honey (California). He is also survived by his four beloved grandchildren Jessica (Frank Stephenson) and Rachelle Miville (Montreal) and Cooper and Alexandra Boyd (Halifax) and his step grandchildren Phia and Streak Honey (California) as well as his cherished sisters Mary Pottie, Judy Chouinard, Madeline (Blair) Simpson and Angela Archer, sister in law Catherine Cable, brothers in-law Lloyd Brewer and Terry Cooper and many special nieces and nephews. Paul was pre deceased by his father Fred; his mother, Pearl (Flemming); his brothers, Freddie, Donnie, Philip and David and his sisters, Doreen, Anne and Clare. Paul was also predeceased by brothers-in-law, Jim Spicer, Peter Ronayne, Tom Pottie, Don Archer and Claude Chouinard as well as his sister in law Pat Cable, son in law Hugues Miville and nephews Lou and Alan Cable and David Spicer.

Dad was one of 12 children of Fred and Pearl Cable, number 6 to be exact and was the last child to be born at home on Young Street in Halifax. Paul was always a very proud northender and remained close to several of his childhood friends as he expanded his circle throughout his life. The St. Joseph’s community was always very important to the Cable family. Paul was an alter boy at St. Joseph's Church where his family attended mass regularly and later in life he started his teaching career at St. Joseph’s A Mackay school as did his daughter Karen. Paul was a war baby born on June 25th in 1939. Paul started helping his large family out at young age by doing various odd jobs such as working on a milk truck, setting up bowling pins at the local bowling alley, working in the shipyards and at J&M Murphy Ltd. Paul attended St. Patrick’s High School back in the day and always joked that grade 11 was the best two years of his life. Apparently he had some truancy issues. Paul eventually started taking his education more seriously beginning with a Bachelor of Arts and B.Ed. from Saint Mary’s University and then he furthered his education at Boston College with a Masters in Educational Psychology and Counselling. Later in his career he completed all of his course work required for a PhD at The University of Alberta, which enabled him to receive the highest attainable teaching licence.

Paul began his career as a Science teacher, and then moved on to become a guidance councillor, vice principal and principal of Richmond School. He found all of his positions rewarding but the area of education that he valued the most was always special (inclusive) education, which stemmed from his brother David. Paul spent the majority of his career trying to improve the school system for students who were challenged and was the Superintendent of Student Services for the Halifax School Board for many years. His biggest legacy was introducing and implementing mainstreaming for students with special needs in the Halifax school system. Paul also served on and was involved in many committees and boards such as APSEA, The Special Olympics, The School for The Blind and The Flowers of Hope Fun Run always striving to improve the quality of education for students with disabilities.

Paul was a well-rounded individual, and had a wide variety of hobbies and interests. He was quite the card shark and was always up for a game of poker or auction 45’s. He could jive like nobody’s business and loved going to dances at The St. Mary’s Boat Club throughout his teens. Paul enjoyed playing racquetball and tennis, was an avid golfer and was always especially proud of his all left-handed teacher’s bowling team fittingly named The South Paws. Paul could often be found at the iconic Red Fox tavern after bowling on Wednesdays in the teacher’s bowling league. Other favourite local haunts included The Midtown and The Press Club. Paul absolutely loved music in all its forms and genres and would spend countless hours making music trivia games. They were the highlight of numerous parties and gatherings. Paul also loved trivia in general and would enter trivia contests with his older brother Freddie. They were quite an unbeatable duo. Paul was a long-time member of Ashburn Golf Club, The Waegwoltic Club, The Halifax Racquet Club and The YMCA and performed in The Halifax Junior League Follies. Later in life Paul was a member of Eden Golf Club when he and Connie lived in West Paradise in the Annapolis Valley and he would frequently get a kick out of telling people he that lived in Paradise. Paul even took up downhill skiing in his early 50’s which was quite a feat given the fact that he had a lifelong fear of heights.

Cable Car as he was fondly known as, was a wonderful storyteller, who always had a quick wit and a twinkle in his eyes. He was often asked to give speeches and toasts at weddings and eulogies at funerals. He was extremely verbose and had a wonderful way with words that always made everyone feel at ease and valued. His Santa, Goofy and Donald Duck impressions were second to none. Paul was a dapper well-dressed individual and was often seen sporting a favourite hat. Like most grandparents he was extremely proud of his grandchildren. He loved watching Cooper and Alexandra play hockey, he enjoyed his summer visits with Jessica and Rachelle and trips to California to spend time with the Honey family. The kids absolutely loved it when Granddad would hit a bunch of golf balls into his pool and they would all dive in to retrieve them. They have many wonderful memories of visiting their grandparents in Florida, eating huge lobster dinners in Paradise and Granddad joining in playing beyblades, cards or whatever happened to be on the go. They also loved playing his made up game of “Where’s Granddad’s Hat” as he would misplace it frequently. Paul had a unique way of making every day things a lot more fun and enjoyable. Paul would have been a great grandfather in May, which would have brought him overwhelming pride and joy.

Finally, we would like to thank Paul’s many incredible unwavering caregivers over the past three years. Our family could not have made it though the long goodbye without you and we are forever grateful. In lieu of donations, we feel the best way to honour Paul’s memory is to be more open-minded and inclusive when interacting with others who may be different from themselves.

Paul’s wishes were to be cremated and to be interred at Mt. Olivet Cemetery. There will be a private family burial at a later date. As Paul would often say when impersonating Porky Pig “That’s all folks”.