Paul Jones Struble

Obituary of Paul Jones Struble

Paul Jones Struble passed away peacefully at Gilpin Hall Nursing Home in Wilmington, DE on Wednesday March 4, 2026. He was 103 years old.

Paul was born on January 1, 1923 to the late James and Margaret (Jones) Struble in Penfield NY. He was the oldest and only boy of 7 children, born during the Great Depression, and became the patriarch of his family at an early age. He was affectionately called "Brother" by all of his 6 sisters. Paul was forced to leave school at the young age of 12 to work on a dairy farm to support his family. For over a year, he was fed only corn flakes and warm milk, which to his dying day he never ate again! It was during these early years he learned resilience and perseverance, which he carried with him his entire life.

Paul lived most of his life in Penfield NY. He worked for over 30 years at Rochester Gas & Electric, moving into various roles within security and maintenance. He also owned his own business cleaning linoleum floors. He would often come home from RG&E, eat a quick dinner and head out to his cleaning job. He worked long hours to support his family and never complained that it was difficult or hard.

Outside of work, Paul enjoyed vacations with the family in his RV, visiting places all over the US. He loved camping, and was a long-time member of the National Campers and Hikers Association. He enjoyed charcoal grilling, with a can of Genesee Cream Ale, which may or may not have contributed to some overdone chicken sometimes. He made many camping friends and always enjoyed long relaxing evenings around the campfire with them.

Paul was a member of the Penfield Wesleyan Church for many years, and was always a spiritual man.

After retiring from RG&E and selling his business, he continued to keep himself busy delivering newspapers for the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. He was never one to just sit around and always found ways to stay busy, including gardening and tinkering with things in his tool shed.

In his later years, Paul was of sound mind and read the newspaper every day, always up on current events. He enjoyed activities at Gilpin Hall and reveled at outings to the Dollar Tree Store to buy candy. He loved lottery scratch off tickets and dreamed of winning millions of dollars. Unfortunately, the most he ever won was $30. He had a lifelong sweet tooth and always had a cabinet full of Hershey's bars, Lifesavers, Red Bird mints and other treats.

Paul is survived by his children James Struble, Mary (Ernesto) Rodriguez, and Leslie (Matthew) Szkotak; his sister Rita Tucker; and his grandchildren Oliver Rodriguez, Joshua Szkotak, and Lydia Rodriguez.

In addition to his parents, he is predeceased by his wife of 61 years Dorothy (Freer) Struble, his siblings Kathryn "Sis" Gobeyn (Rene), Luella "Genie" Harris (Robert), Beatrice Brotz (Bill), Audrey "Honey" Bergen (Louis), Joanne Robbins (Charles), and brother-in-law Kenneth Tucker.

Paul will be laid to rest at Lower Brandywine Cemetery on Wednesday, March 11th in a private ceremony.

Online condolences may be made by visiting www.paganofuneralhome.com.