Paul Christopher Warr-King

Paul Christopher Warr-King, born January 28, 1938, passed away January 12, 2025, 16 days shy of his 87th birthday. His life events carried him from his birthplace in Devonshire, on England's south coast, through British Columbia, Canada to Los Angeles, then Honolulu and finally to Oregon. Along this path he attained 3 citizenships (British, Canadian and American) and had a stellar commercial & international banking career.

Born to parents Mervin Edwin Harold Warr-King and Doris Florence Ellen Warr-King, he joined much older sisters Joan and Mervina. Due to WWII, their home had blackout curtains, a steel top table and a bomb shelter in the yard. The food shortages gave Paul a lifetime aversion to gravy. Paul never knew what the protein was that his mother hid in all her sauces.

Paul attended Montpelier Boys School where he received an excellent education, played cricket and rugby and made lifetime friends, of which only one, Richard Samuels, remains alive.

Sadly, his father, a WWI veteran, passed away when Paul was 15. Shortly after the death, he and his mother followed one of his older sisters to British Columbia. There, the Royal Bank of Canada hired and trained him and sent him to their branches in towns all over the province where he learned banking from the bottom up.

In Nanaimo on Vancouver Island he met Marilyn, his wife to be. The Bank made the couple wait one year before they could marry. With Marilyn, Paul fathered his three children, Lisa, Loreen (Lori) and Christopher.

One of the bankers he had worked with in Canada had moved to Los Angeles and offered Paul a job there. There, his interest in international banking led him to UCLA classes on that subject and ultimately a position at First Hawaiian Bank in Honolulu, where he built their international division. In that role he travelled the Pacific Rim, helping clients with project funding and banking needs.

During the Cold War his First Hawaiian boss asked him to work with the Federal Reserve to ensure banking services continued even if the Hawaiian Islands got cut off from the mainland. As a Canadian citizen, Paul had to decline the offer because the position required US citizenship. His boss made sure that US citizenship happened quickly for Paul to take on the important role.

After 10 years in Hawaii, Paul and his family settled in Oregon where Paul endured the bank buyout period, ultimately ending his career with many years working for KeyBank.

In Oregon he connected with many friends who had grown up playing cricket in their home countries. The group formed a team which is still functioning today. They play matches in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia, and now mostly socialize.

26 years ago, when Paul found himself single, he met Mary Jo Hubert Warr-King at 6:30am at a bagel & coffee shop. Being the skilled salesman he was, he pursued her and in September of 2000, they married. They shared their love of rescue dogs, gardening, community involvement, world travel and life in Gresham where Mary Jo had grown up.

Once Paul retired, he served on the boards of Human Solutions (now called Our Just Future) and Snowcap, and served on City of Gresham Finance Committee and 8 years as a Gresham City Councilman. He also was a past president of Gresham Chamber of Commerce and worked on the Gresham Sister City Program and Tsuru Island Garden development.

Paul loved people and thrived on getting groups together regularly. He enjoyed his Jazzy Bagel coffee gang and when Covid hit and they could no longer gather, he helped start a Zoom chat group where they all could continue meeting. And of course, he enticed many friends to join his Monday & Friday Glendoveer golf group.

Sadly, in the last few years Alzheimer's disease curtailed his many activities. He and Mary Jo found great help and formed lasting friendships in the Alzheimer's Association caregivers support group which meets at the Gresham Senior Center. What a gift and lifesaver that group has been to both Paul and Mary Jo.

In Paul's final year he went into care first in Gresham then in Arizona. He passed in his sleep in the early hours of January 12, 2025.

Here is to a very fine gentleman, friend and husband. We all will miss you, Paul. You are much loved!!