Paula Mary Strickon

Paula Mary (Lightfoot) Strickon October 18, 1948 - December 1, 2025.

Paula was born in Kent, UK, to Margaret Joyce, a schoolteacher, and Dr William Lightfoot, a psychologist who worked for UNESCO in Paris and New York. Paula studied to be a teacher at Digby Stuart College in Roehampton, southwest London but left in 1969 to join her father in Queens, NY.

She worked for the British Government Information Service in Manhattan and was an active parishioner at Our Lady of Mercy Church.

In 1971 Paula became a founding member of the Forest Hills Volunteer Ambulance Corps and was a first aid instructor and one of the first certified CPR instructors. She became an EMT and continued as a training instructor while also pursuing other advanced courses. It was during this time that she met her future husband, Ivan Strickon, a fellow instructor at another volunteer ambulance service. They married on May 18, 1973, in London, and lived in Forest Hills, and then Greenlawn on Long Island, before eventually retiring to Lincoln NH.

After returning from their wedding, Paula worked for the Red Cross until taking a position at Beth Israel Medical Center in the late 1970s. Her mission was to train the entire medical staff (from interns to dept. heads) in basic and advanced cardiac life support. She created the training program and only through her wit, charm and English accent was she able to cajole/intimidate the doctors into her classes! After Beth Israel, she worked for Medtronic and finally for State Farm Insurance.

Paula was a wonderful cook and baker and dabbled in gardening (even if she wasn't particularly good at distinguishing a weed from a flower!). She was a fabulous seamstress, and great at arts and crafts. She was a raconteur, delighting friends with her exceptional memory of long forgotten antics - many reckon she kissed the blarney stone at some point in her youth! She was a gentle skier, scuba-diving onlooker, and enjoyed reading and crosswords…when she had time. Above all, she and Ivan were very active volunteers in their local community, as Rotarians and Board members of the Linwood Ambulance Service. Paula was also a volunteer at the Seniors Center, and was a driver for Meals on Wheels. She set up the annual Ivan Strickon Memorial Golf Day to raise funds for the Ambulance service.

Paula died after a very short illness in Littleton Hospital, lovingly cared for by staff she knew well. She leaves behind her family in the UK, and her Godsons in NY, together with countless friends across the miles. She was a great friend to so many, and will be sadly missed.
No flowers, please, but donations to the Linwood Ambulance service gratefully received. https://linwoodambulance.org/paula-memorial

There will be a Mass of Christian Burial at 12 noon on Friday, May 1st, 2026 at St Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, 25 School St. Lincoln, NH. Dress code is bright and colorful, no formal suits.

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