Paul L Ritchie

1926 - 2012

Paul Leonard Ritchie, 86, of Lacey, WA died on Friday, October 19, 2012, at Providence St Peters Hospital. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, October 27, 2012, at 3:00 p.m. at Mills and Mills Funeral Home, 5725 Littlerock Rd SW, Tumwater, WA.

Paul was born in Akron, Ohio, on May 7, 1926 to Paul Jonas Ritchie and Ada Gertrude Watson. At the age of 16 he started working in the carpentry shop for the B.F. Goodrich Company in Akron. In September 1943 he enlisted in the US Navy. He served as a Carpenters Mate in the Pacific islands during World War II. In December 1945 he was discharged from the Navy in Bremerton, WA.

After his discharge from the Navy, Paul decided to stay in the Olympia area. He held various jobs including pin setter at the bowling alley. Eventually he went to work for the Federal Government, doing carpentry and sight management in the Reserve Fleet in Olympia. He worked there for nearly 13 years before injuring his back. After back surgery he studied drafting and joined the cartography section at the State Department of Natural Resources in 1961. In September 1971 he transferred to the State Department of Ecology where he worked until his retirement in February 1988.

Throughout his life Paul also worked as a general contractor, building and remodeling houses, replacing roofs, demolishing buildings, and other various construction activities. In later years he enjoyed making wooden toys, especially wooden cars and doll beds that he donated to the Christmas toy drives and programs for the area children.

Paul enjoyed the outdoors and nature, and over the years enjoyed traveling to Hawaii, taking cruises to Alaska, the Panama Canal, Canada and along the Mississippi River. He also took many local trips to the mountains and the coast.

Paul was a very outgoing person who liked to be with people. He donated his time and talents to a variety of community projects and organizations over the years. After his retirement he enjoyed daily visits to the local stores where he could talk to customers and staff. The last ten years he particularly enjoyed spending time at the Lacey Harbor Freight store, developing friendships with many of the regular customers.

Paul’s laugher, wit, generosity and caring will be missed by his wife of 33 years, Barbara, other family members and a host of friends.