Paul Albert Mider

Paul Albert Mider passed away on February 20, 2024, in Austin, Texas after a long bout with Lewy body dementia. He was 77 years old. He passed away peacefully under the care of the Silverado Barton Springs Memory Care Community and having said goodbye to his family.

Paul was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on April 11, 1946, to Margaret "Margo" Ruth Swanson. He was raised by Margo and his adoptive father, George Albert Mider. After graduating from Roger Bacon High School in 1964, Paul attended Muskingum College in Ohio for one year on a football scholarship. Soon after, he enlisted in the United States Air Force - at the height of the Vietnam War. He was assigned to Strategic Air Command, where he was an Aeromedical Specialist in Minot, N.D. and Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada from 1966-1969.

Upon discharge from the Air Force, Paul settled in Washington, D.C., where he was employed as a psychiatric technician and assumed responsibilities with in-patient psychiatric and substance abuse patients. He resumed his undergraduate studies at the University of Maryland in College Park and married his first wife, the mother of his older son, Michael, currently a lieutenant with the Fire Department of New York (FDNY). He completed his undergraduate degree in 1972 and soon after was accepted at New York University, where he completed his Masters in 1974 and his PhD in 1982. In 2001, he received a post-graduate certificate in neuropsychology from the Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, Calif.

From 1975 to 1982, Paul worked in various roles with the Veterans Administration (V.A.) in substance abuse programs. While at the V.A. he worked on identifying Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in returning Vietnam Veterans and he was among the early practitioners who researched PTSD. Subsequently, Paul worked with the FDNY as a consultant to assist in setting up the Counseling Unit, which currently serves thousands of FDNY employees. For many years, the FDNY Counseling Unit referred firemen to Paul, who saw numerous FDNY patients in his private practice. Soon after September 11, 2001, he volunteered his services to counsel firefighters involved in the rescue efforts and assisted patients in their disability claims in the following years. He published numerous academic articles on both substance abuse and PTSD. His commitment to the FDNY surely contributed to his son Michael's choice to become a fireman.

After completing his PhD, Paul ran the substance-abuse division in the department of community medicine at Long Island Jewish-Hillside Medical Center in New Hyde Park, N.Y. He taught at the College of New Rochelle; St. John's University; and Stony Brook University School of Medicine. He did further academic work at Howard University and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. In 1983, he started his clinical private practice, specializing in substance abuse disorders, anxieties and mood disorders, stress disorders and couples and family therapy. In 1997, Paul began employment with the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA), as one of only two psychologists in the Psychological Services Unit of Occupational Health Services, assessing patients for fitness for duty. He worked full-time for the NYCTA for 11 years while maintaining his private practice during the evenings.

In 1985, Paul married Barbara Kolsun, a lawyer in the fashion industry and current Professor of Practice at Cardozo Law School. His hobbies included fishing, travel and golf. He picked up many sports as a child but excelled in football and baseball. He traveled the world with Barbara and their son, Nicholas - having visited more than 60 countries. A New Yorker since the early 1970s, Paul loved so much of the city's culture - sports (avid Yankees and Giants fan), the arts, food, and the city's unrivaled diversity.

In October 2010, Paul retired from the NYCTA, intending to focus on his private practice. For more than 20 years, Paul took cases pro bono and developed an expertise in immigration hardship. He worked with immigrants from Tibet, Nepal, Senegal, Russia, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and other countries, both for Physicians for Human Rights-Asylum Network (leading to the granting of asylum for immigrants) and also as a forensic expert for immigration lawyers in connection with suspension of deportation cases. Paul was also a board member for many years at Girling Home Health in Austin, Texas. He closed his private practice in 2012 so he could devote all of his time to travel and personal hobbies.

Paul was preceded in death by his parents, Margo and Al and his younger siblings, Ted and Lee. He is survived by his wife, Barbara Kolsun of New York, N.Y.; son, Michael of New York, N.Y.; son, Nicholas, daughter-in-law, Morgan, and grandchildren, Charles and Alice, of Austin, Texas; brother, Greg of Dallas, Texas; sister, Christi of Santa Barbara, Calif.; brother, David of Austin, Texas; sister, Joan of Muldoon, Texas; and many beloved nieces and nephews; cousins; and countless friends.

The Mider family would like to thank friends, family, and neighbors for the outpouring of love and support.

Paul's brain tissue has been donated to Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurogenerative Diseases at the University of Texas Health San Antonio. His remains will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery.