Paul B. Wilson

PAUL B. WILSON, age 95, of Elkview, WV passed away September 2, 2024, at Hubard Hospice house due to complications from cancer and after a long battle with dementia.
Paul was born December 9, 1928 at Stone Cliff, West Virginia, to Ober and Mae Wilson where Ober ran the company store over which Paul was born. He was the oldest of for children and was preceded in death by his loving wife of 75 years, Louise, as well as his parents and siblings Velma and Ann.
He is survived by his youngest sister Helen, as well as his daughter Barbara Boatman, son Chuck (Rita) Wilson, grandchildren: Beth Ann Boatman, Carrie Rae Boatman, Dr. Joe Wilson, M.D., and great-grandchildren Elliott (Taylor) Bales and Dylan Bales.
While Paul was born in the New River Gorge (and spent many of his formative years there) he was actually raised in the town of Clendenin where his parents moved in order to be near family during the depths of the Depression. Growing up Paul had a number of jobs around town to help out the family ranging from cleaning the local doctor's office where Mae worked, to being a pin setter at the local bowling alley to working the projector at the local movie house.
His final year of high school was at Elkview High where he met and fell in love with his future wife Louise. After a whirlwind romance and right after graduation they were married and settled into a small house on the farm Louise's family owned. After a few years working several different jobs, Paul finally found his calling and began his employment at what was then known as the C&P Telephone company. Paul started out as a lineman then worked his way up to installer repairman, test desk operator, test desk supervisor and then finally a position as an instructor for the plant school where he taught until his retirement from the company in 1985.
After Paul's retirement they moved back to where Louise's story first began on Oakdale Farm, at first with the help of friends and family they built a small "shop" in which they lived with just a hot plate, a microwave and a solar shower while they built their dream log house next that first summer. The house was completed in the fall of that year and they began the process of decorating it with the many antiques they had collected on their many trips throughout New England and the Appalachian region.
For the next several years they continued to make trips to New England to visit good friends but their ultimate post retirement vacation was a 2-1/2 month combination driving / flying trip across country that took them from WV to Washington state then up to Alaska where they were able to visit Denali National Park (via train) then returning back through California to see Yosemite as well as the mighty Redwoods (where Paul promptly got them lost).
After returning they continued to make small trips to visit friends and family but stayed closer to home to help raise their last grandchild, and enjoy the peace and quiet that nature and the farm brought to them.
The family would like to thank their dear neighbors Brian Farkas and Adrianne Worthy as well as Doug and Debbie Edens and Arlene and Fred Furby as well as his granddaughters, Beth Ann and Carrie Rae, for being the backstop that allowed Chuck, Rita and Barb to keep him on the farm for one last summer after Louise passed in 2022. Unfortunately, at that point the memory loss and dementia made it simply unsafe for him to continue to live on the farm so the difficult decision was made to move him to Brookdale Gardens where he resided quite happily and quietly for the next twenty-two months until his cancer was discovered and at which time it was decided to place him under hospice care.
At his request there will be no public memorial service and his ashes will be returned to "The Farm" on Frame Road and to the same flower garden behind his sons house where Louise's ashes were placed in March of 2022, so they can once again lie down together in that place where they were most happy in life.
In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to Hospice Care of Kanawha Valley, 1606 Kanawha Blvd W, Charleston, WV 25387. Online condolences may be sent to www.haferfuneralhome.net.
Arrangements are in the care of Hafer Funeral Home, 50 North Pinch Road, Elkview WV 25071