Loulie Smith Paul

Loulie (Lou) Montgomery Smith Paul was born in Mullins, SC on June 26, 1924, and entered heaven peacefully on January 28, 2023. She was raised in Orangeburg, SC, and started school in a one-room schoolhouse where her mother taught. After graduating from Winthrop College with a secretarial degree, she went to work for the Civil Service in Charleston, SC during World War II. While there, her commanding officer set her up on a blind date with a young Navy Lieutenant named James Robert Paul. Jim and Lou were married in the Navy Chapel on June 6, 1946, exactly two years after D Day.

Lou’s resilience helped lead her family through 21 moves in just 19 years before settling in Houston, Texas. Raising four daughters was a full-time job for Lou, while Jim travelled most of the week. She and Jim loved to play bridge, go to Astros games, and participate in dinner clubs over the years. But mostly they enjoyed their time with their growing family. They spent many afternoons at their grandchildren’s events all over Texas; they loved gathering the family at a beach house in the summers and traveling to visit relatives across the country.

Lou and Jim’s love of travel led them to accept a work opportunity overseas where they lived in Belgium, Switzerland, and France. In the years they lived overseas, they travelled throughout Europe, the Middle East, and the Soviet Union where they acquired a lifetime of stories. Once Jim retired, they returned to their home in Houston where they spent the rest of their 56 years of marriage enjoying their children and grandchildren.

Lou spent the last 20 years of her life in Austin, Texas. She enjoyed living on a golf course and watching deer from her back porch. After 10 years she moved into the Atria at Great Hills, and then the Village at the Triangle. Lou became an expert bridge player and could hold her own at the weekly poker table. She loved watching westerns on TV, sitting on the porch, driving through the bluebonnets, and especially welcoming her many great grandchildren into the world.

Lou is preceded in death by her husband Jim, her two brothers, and her parents. She leaves behind a legacy of four daughters and their husbands, ten grandchildren and spouses, and twenty-one great grandchildren. Lou always loved the ‘in-laws’ as her own children.

The family wants to extend our appreciation to Joel Quade and his staff at The Village at the Triangle; The Enclave at Cedar Park; and Hospice Austin. You always treated our mother like family. Lou faced many health challenges in her final year, and we could not have survived without the loving care she received from her private caregivers. Our highest gratitude goes out to Eva, Ashley, Arianna, and Susan. Thank you for loving our matriarch and for giving her so much comfort in her last days.

A funeral service for Loulie will be held Monday, February 6, 2023 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at Forest Park Westheimer Funeral Home, 12800 Westheimer Road, Houston, TX 77077. Following the funeral service will be a committal service from 11:00 AM to 11:20 AM at Forest Park Westheimer Cemetery, 12800 Westheimer Road, Houston, TX 77077.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.forestparkwestheimer.com for the Paul family.