Paul Oswald

1949 - 2025

With his love of God and Jesus guiding his way Home, Paul Curtis Oswald passed away on August 25, 2025, at the age of 75 years. He was a resident of El Dorado Hills since 1987. Paul was born to Harold William Oswald and Ruth Elizabeth (Reimer) Oswald on October 7, 1949, in Albany, Oregon. He grew up in Lebanon, Oregon. Paul, along with his family, were faithful and active members of the Lebanon Mennonite Church.

Paul attended Lebanon Union High School from 1963 to 1967. In 1966, he broke his high school's shot-put record (set by his brother, Dean, two years earlier). His record remained unbroken for more than fifty years. In both 1966 and 1967 he set new school discus records. Paul received an athletic scholarship to attend college at Southern Oregon College, in Ashland, where he took up the hammer throw. He qualified for the NAIA Men's National Track and Field Championship Meet twice, placing 5th in 1970 and 2nd in the nation in 1971.

In the fall of 1970, Paul was introduced to a fellow student, Judi Trowbridge, by a mutual friend. They began dating and soon realized there was a magical connection between them – LOVE! They became engaged in February 1971, and married on June 26, 1971. Paul graduated from Southern Oregon College in June 1972, with a degree in General Studies. In March 1973, they moved to Sunnyvale, California, to be closer to Judi's family and new adventures in California. They soon relocated to a new townhouse in San Jose, to accommodate their growing family – daughters Melissa arrived in November 1974, and Jill in March 1978. Many happy family memories were made in that first home. With a desire to have a more conventional home, in 1984 they bought a single-family home in San Jose, where they lived until 1987. A love of the mountains and a strong wish to be closer to them guided their decision to leave the Bay Area and live where it was less crowded. A new home in the (then) little community of El Dorado Hills was the answer, and they moved their family in the fall of 1987.

Paul started his forty-year career in the Geotechnical field in San Jose in 1973, working for Terra Tech Consulting, as well as Emcon Associates. His jobs involved monitoring earthwork design compliance and taking soil core samples on construction and infrastructure projects. He also earned valuable experience in soils testing, that served him well during his career. After they moved to El Dorado Hills in 1987, Paul worked for, among others, Youngdahl Consulting Group in El Dorado Hills, California, Anderson Consulting Group in Roseville, California and Blackburn Consulting in Auburn, California. He finished his career at Geocon Inc of Rancho Cordova, California, where he managed the soils testing laboratory, before retiring in May 2013.

Earlier, in the summer of 1975, Judi's parents had built a vacation home in the mountains of Sierra County, California, along the north fork of the Yuba River and adjacent to the Sierra Buttes and the Lakes Basin. They named it Tamarack. With Paul and Judi's love of the mountains, it quickly became their favorite place to go when they could get away and was the main reason for their move to El Dorado Hills. Both Melissa and Jill grew up going to Tamarack year around, with their family, grandparents and friends: hiking and fishing in the summer and snowmobiling in the winter. Their adventures and memories spanned over 40 glorious years, for which they felt very blessed and grateful.

Retirement brought more time together with loved ones, and time for travel. Paul and Judi took cruises to Alaska, through the Panama Canal, and around the Mediterranean, as well as numerous road trips to National Parks, Monuments, and attractions in the Western United States and Canada. Paul was a fun-loving man who enjoyed life's new adventures and experiences. His biggest love was his family and his faith in God and Jesus. He will be greatly missed.

Paul is survived by his beloved wife of 54 years, Judith Lyon (Trowbridge) Oswald, his cherished daughters Melissa Lynn Oswald of Fair Oaks, California and Jill Marie Oswald of El Dorado Hills, California, his loving brother Dean Harold Oswald (LaVerna) of Oregon City, Oregon, his nephew Jeffery Dean Oswald (Dorena) of Oregon City, Oregon and nephew James Allen Oswald (Stacey) of Portland, Oregon, nieces and nephews of Judi's family, and numerous grandnieces and grandnephews of both families. He was preceded in death by his parents Harold and Ruth Oswald.

Please join us for a Celebration of Paul's life on Monday, October 6, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. at Vintage Grace Church, 931 Lassen Lane, El Dorado Hills CA. There will be a reception at the church immediately following the service. In lieu of flowers, the family requests you consider a donation in Paul's memory to The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (www.theaftd.org), The National Aphasia Association (www.aphasia.org), or The Sierra County Land Trust (www.sierracountylandtrust.org).