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PAUL COLBY Obituary

COLBY--Paul N.,

plastics wizard, was affectionately known as "Nick". He was born to Jesse Van Horne and Paul N. Colby in Trenton, NJ on August 16, 1928, and died March 7, 2015 in California at the age of 86. He was an all-state football player for The Pennington School. Nick played football at Princeton University and graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 1950, then served in the Korean War on the USS Rendova from 1950 to 1952. His plastics career began at Winner Manufacturing Co. in the early 1950s, where he designed, built and helped test a reinforced-plastic pontoon bridge for the U.S. Army. Nick worked in the plastics industry for 60 years, designing and manufacturing feed screw systems for injection molding machinery. He and his wife, Illene, started their own company, Spirex Corporation, in 1978 in New Castle, P.A. Nick patented seven of his inventions in injection molding machine screw and barrel technology. He served as President of the Plastic Pioneers and was inducted into the Plastics Hall of Fame in 2009. Nick was also a skilled pilot. Nick's sister, Marylou Sharrett, died in 2005. He is survived by his wife, Illene Colby; his daughter, Gale Colby Mirzayanov, of Princeton, NJ; his son, Paul T. Colby, of Incline Village, CA; his daughter, Sarah Colby (Class of '90 Princeton University), of Oakland, CA; his grandchildren, Ted Colby, Steve Schauer, Sarah Schauer, Matthew Colby, Nicholas Colby, and Lucas Massa; and his great-grandchildren, Camilla Colby and Angelo Pasquerella. A memorial service will be held on April 27th in Bodega Bay, CA. Memorial gifts can be made to the UCSF Memory Clinic, The Pennington School, or to a charity of your choice.

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Published by New York Times on Mar. 31, 2015.

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6 Entries

April 3, 2015

Hi... If anyone needs Illene's address or e-mail to send her a private message, please send me an e-mail as follows: [email protected] Thank you all! Gale Colby Mirzayanov

Irene Goldman

April 1, 2015

We had the great pleasure of meeting Paul Colby at your wedding Gale and Vil. What a cheerful lovely human being. And, it was a great surprise that Paul and my father Jack Etkin were in the same industry and knew one another well. Many warm connections. We share your grief. with love,

March 31, 2015

Sincere condolences goes out to the Colby family for your sad loss. May GOD be a source of strength and comfort as you mourn your loss.

Posy (Rosette) Gault

March 31, 2015

I remember your father well, Gale, what a twinkle in his eye and warm smile to go with his bright mind. These things stick in my mind- about him the most.
This are great things to inherit are they not- treasures of the heart at best.

March 31, 2015

Please except my sincerest condolences. May you have peace and strength through prayer during this difficult time. Philipians 4:6,7

Gale Colby Mirzayanov

March 31, 2015

Good morning! Finally we got the Obits up and running for the New York Times, The New Castle News, and hopefully within a day or two they will also appear in the Princeton Packet, Hopewell Valley News and Town Topics. Online versions also should be visible. Sarah also has posted in Princeton Alumni Weekly!

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