Paul SooHoo

Paul SooHoo, beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, and friend, passed away on July 5, 2025, at the age of 71 due to the impact of Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP). He was born on January 27, 1954 to May and Paul SooHoo, and spent his childhood in New York City, living primarily in Queens and the Bronx as the youngest of five brothers. At an early age, he learned the value of hard work, working as a paperboy and as a cook in his family's restaurant. Paul was accepted to Brooklyn Technical High School and went on to earn a degree in math from the City College of New York. After college, he found his first teaching position as a high school math teacher in Nyack, New York and then at Hopewell Valley High School, where he met a science teacher, Carolyn. Fortunately, his "pickup line" that he was too scared to go to a horror movie alone worked, and they would spend the next 45 years as husband and wife.

Paul left teaching to work in corporate information technology at Sperry, AT&T, and Educational Testing Service, where he contributed to the development of four patents that shaped electronic test creation. After 22 years in corporate life, he returned to his first career, working for 16 years as a math teacher at Allentown High School. He was named High School Teacher of the Year during the 2010-2011 school year and reveled in teaching his students math through origami, Rubik's cubes, magic, and a healthy dose of "dad jokes."

He was a lifelong teacher at heart, and nowhere was that more apparent than in his role as father to Mark (Annie) SooHoo, Jeffrey (Megan) SooHoo, and Amy (Tom) White. Later in life, he would upgrade from "dad jokes" to "grandpa jokes" as the loving grandfather of Jackson, Max, and Brooke SooHoo, Claire and Charlie SooHoo, and Trevor, Andrew, and Julia White.

His myriad hobbies included bike riding, fishing, photography, juggling, Jeet Kune Do, magic, chess, and reading. He was active in church life at Lawrence Road Presbyterian Church where his children's sermons mixed magic, humor, and life lessons. Paul and Carolyn later joined First Presbyterian Church of Hamilton Square. His adult education classes teaching Chinese cooking were a hot ticket in Hamilton, and he will be remembered for his delicious meals at home, including specialties such as pot stickers, chicken wings, and Belgian waffles at Christmas.

Together with his wife, Carolyn, he enjoyed traveling around the United States and to various countries, including trips to witness total solar eclipses in the Caribbean, China, Illinois, and Indianapolis.

Visitation for family and friends will be held on Thursday, July 10, 2025, from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at the Saul Colonial Home, 3795 Nottingham Way, Hamilton Square, NJ 08690.

A Funeral Service will be held on Friday, July 11, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. at the First Presbyterian Church of Hamilton Square, 3550 Nottingham Way, Hamilton Square, NJ 08690.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Misericordia Home in Chicago, a residential community that houses Paul's grandson, Jackson, who has cerebral palsy (donations can be made at https://www.misericordia.com/giving/ referencing MFA Number 6334A) or to Cure PSP at https://www.psp.org.

Paul loved a good joke, good Scotch, and good friends. He worked hard (famously changing the oil in his car right before his wedding), loved fiercely, and dedicated his life to teaching and making the world better for his family, his students, and his community. He will be deeply missed by all who knew him.