Paul Theodore Loef

Paul "Duke" Loef, 96, of Sedona, AZ passed away peacefully on October 17, 2023 of natural causes.

Paul was born on April 4, 1927 to Peter and Mary Ellen Loef of Manitowac, Wisconsin. After graduating from Lincoln High School he elisted to fight in WWII, where he was stationed in the South Pacific.

After the war he was recruited to play football for the University of Arizona, where he fell in love with Tucson and made many lifelong friends. Their adventures would form the basis for many of his best stories.

After graduating from the University of Arizona with a degree in engineering Paul was convinced by his older brother John to come out to California, where jobs were plentiful. Once there he found work as an engineer for McDonnell Douglas and eventually moved into a beach house in Malibu with several friends.

It was in Malibu that Paul met Constance, the love of his life. Paul and Constance married on October 25, 1958 in Our Lady of Malibu Church. They eventually bought a home and settled in Pacific Palisades.

After their second child Paul began attending night classes at Loyola Law School, eventually earning his law degree and passing the bar in 1962. He soon thereafter began working as a patent attorney for McDonnell Douglas and did so until his retirement in 1989.

After Paul's retirement he and Constance moved to Sedona and built their dream home.

Paul was one of a kind, cut from the different cloth of a long forgotten generation. There was no calling the carpenter, plumber or painter-no taking the car to the mechanic, except in rare cases-at the Loef house.

There was no judgement at the Loef house either. Everyone was welcome, and the side door was always open.

Paul was a force of nature; once he decided to do something there was no stopping him.

As tough as he could be, he was all heart. He would help anyone who needed it, no questions asked.

He was that rarest of people, the kind that led not with words but by example.

He loved the outdoors, was an avid flyfisherman, and did all he could to instill his love of nature in his children.

He was an incorrigible tease, even if you were in a bad mood, and sometimes especially if you were in a bad mood.

He was a loving father, a devoted husband, and a loyal friend.

He loved deeply, and was deeply loved back.

He is survived by his wife Constance, their seven children and ten grandchildren.