Obituary: Paul Newell

High school summers he worked at Broughton Lumber Co.’s sawmill in Willard, Washington, with his dad and brothers. He attended Clark College, but returned to Underwood and the mill after he married Debra Hodge in 1971.

A daughter, Melanie Ann, was born to the couple in 1972, joining her half-brother, Jason Hodge. Paul continued to work at Broughton’s to support his family until he lost his right leg above the knee in an accident at the mill in 1981. Lots of things changed then, but not Paul’s ingrained desire to always be the best he could be. 

His wife left, but the kids stayed, and Paul went back to college, where he found he had a knack with computers. He began working at Treaty Oak Community College in The Dalles, Oregon, in 1982. He was not accredited to teach, but he ran their computer lab and helped many students get comfortable with technology. 

More importantly, Paul kindly and patiently taught the college staff to use computers. He selected and purchased the hardware and software that brought the fledgling institution now known as Columbia Gorge Community College into the computer age. He was their one-man IT department.

In 1987, Paul married Sally Adkisson of The Dalles, adding her two kids, Claire and Colin Smith, to the family. He continued to work at the college for several years, until he had an opportunity to join the IT department at Sprint in Hood River, Oregon. The college hired three people to replace him. Paul advanced steadily through his career and stayed with the phone company until he retired.

Once Paul took that first step with his prosthetic leg, there was no stopping him. He loved music, but didn’t play, so he danced. He loved the outdoors, so he farmed his place in Underwood, raised lambs, rode horses, sailed his boat and managed to do ‘most everything he wanted to do. He was no quitter, and he didn’t complain.

Paul’s love of farming and the natural world led him to serve on the Underwood Conservation District Board of Supervisors for many years, eventually earning him recognition by the Washington Association of Conservation Districts in 2018, when he was awarded the Eugene Schloz Outstanding Supervisor Award.

Unfortunately, that was the year he was diagnosed with the rare and aggressive prostate cancer that eventually took him, but not without a fight. Paul fought valiantly and without complaint.

Paul was predeceased by his parents and sister Cecilia (Paul) Stone. He is survived by his wife Sally; son Jason Hodge; daughter Melanie (Matt) Marx; daughter Claire (Robert) Graper; son Colin (Lurel) Smith; grandsons Kamryn Ruthardt Newell, Jonathan Graper and Zane Smith; granddaughters Ilaina Smith and Grace Julian; sister Sharon (Jim) Bryan; brother Tim (Karen) Newell; sister Jayne (Scott) Allen; brother Lester (Shelly) Newell; and nieces, nephews and grandnieces and grandnephews — he loved each one. And so many dear friends! That oversized heart of his drew people to him.

We’ll celebrate Paul on Nov. 15, the day after what would have been his 75^th birthday. We’ll do it with a potluck, a slideshow, tributes and music, not necessarily in that order, but bring a dish to share and help us celebrate an Underwood original!