Paul Francis Reese

REESE, Paul Francis
Paul Reese, 87, was born in Hopland, CA, on April 17, 1917. He died on November 4, 2004 in Auburn, CA, where he had lived for the past 23 years.

Paul graduated from Christian Brothers High School in Sacramento in 1935 where he participated on the varsity teams of most sports. He went on to graduate from UC Berkeley in 1939, and obtained both his masters degree and teaching credential the following year at Cal. In 1940, he began his career with the Sacramento City School District, which would last until his retirement in 1982 with interruptions for military service.

In October 1941, after beginning his second year teaching at Sacramento High School, Paul volunteered for the Marines. He participated in the last phase of the battle for Guadalcanal and then the invasion of Bougainville as an intelligence officer in February 1943. He was later selected as one of eight marine officers to become a tactical air observer and subsequently flew 91 missions in torpedo bombers from escort carriers supporting ground troops in the battles for Guam, Peleliu, and Okinawa. His combat decorations included a Distinguished Flying Cross, two Air Medals, five Navy unit citations, and four Presidential unit citations.

After WWII, Paul returned to teaching at Sacramento High School where he taught history and was the editor of the school newspaper. Paul remained in the Marine reserves and was recalled to service during the Korean War. During that conflict, he was stationed at Quantico, VA, given an active commission, and promoted to Lt. Colonel.

Following his Marine Corps career, Paul again returned to teaching at the Sacramento School District and soon moved into administration positions, among them director of the district's middle schools and junior high schools.

Paul's avocation was long distance running in which he was active as a runner, race director, and writer. As a runner, he was nationally ranked for 29 years in the Masters (over age 40) division and set various age records from 5,000 meters to 100 Miles. He completed over 200 marathons and ultra marathons, including Western States 100, the 56 Mile Comrades Marathon in South Africa, the London to Brighton 54 Mile Run, and the Lake Tahoe 72 Mile Race. He was a race director for 39 consecutive years and founded such races as the Jed Smith 50 Miler, Lake Tahoe 72 Miler, and the Clarksburg 20 Mile Run. His most noteworthy running accomplishment was a 3,192 mile run across the USA in 1990 at age 73, making him the oldest person to have run across the country. During that run, he crossed 12 states; in subsequent years, he ran across the remaining 38 states. As a writer, he contributed numerous articles to running publications and wrote a feature column on running in The Bee for several years. He is the author of three books: "Ten Million Steps", "Go East Old Man", and "The Old Man and the Road".

He is survived by his wife, Elaine, of Auburn; son, Mark and daughter, Nancy of Sacramento; daughter, Susan of San Rafael; and grandchildren, Jillian Reese, Scott and Kate Granlund.

At his request, Paul's burial services were private. Remembrances may be made in memory of Paul F. Reese to Christian Brothers High School, 4315 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95820.