Mr. Paul passed away at his home in Boone, NC, on June 23, 2012, after a long struggle with congestive heart failure. He was born on November 5, 1925, in Haddon Heights, NJ, to James and Anna Paul. He attended Haddon Heights High School, where he met his future wife of 66 years, Virginia (Gini) Palmer. They had four children, John, Richard, Sheryl, and Andrew.

Jack enlisted in the Navy in April 1943 and proudly served in World War II as Machinist Mate on the USS England (DE635), a Destroyer Escort that had the unique distinction of sinking six Japanese submarines in 12 days in May 1944. The ship participated in five invasions until it was hit by a kamikaze plane near Okinawa; the England was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation for "outstanding performance in combat."

Upon discharge, he graduated from Rutgers University and soon started his own business as a building contractor. He specialized in building custom homes in New Jersey and later Dunedin, Florida. In 1987, he took a job as Construction Analyst for the Veteran's Administration and on retirement in 1992, Jack and Gini moved to Boone.

Jack loved sports, reading, movies, gardening, and woodworking, and he was active in the Boone Seniors Tennis League. He and Gini also enjoyed seeing new places and traveled extensively throughout the U.S. and Europe. He was a devoted family man and was very proud of his children. Jack is survived by his wife and children, as well as nine grandchildren, 12 great grandchildren, and four sisters, Ruth, Alice, Jeanette, and Eleanor. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his two brothers, Bob and Bill.

Jack was deeply loved and admired by his family, and will be missed. The family has requested that anyone wishing to make a memorial donation, send it to High Country Health Care System Hospice, http://www.highcountryhospice.org.

Austin and Barnes Funeral Home and Crematory of Boone is serving the Paul family.