Paul Earl Eberly Jr.

Paul Earl Eberly, Jr. was born in 1930 in Jacksonwald, a Pennsylvania Dutch village outside of Reading, PA. He graduated from a city school, Mt. Penn High School. He had also won a scholarship in classical piano and voice at the Wyomissing Institute of Fine Arts. He stopped pursuing a career in music and attended Pennsylvania State University as a freshman architect. Finding this not suitable to him, he changed to chemical engineering and graduated from Penn State in 1952. He then applied for a scholarship at Carnegie Mellon. While he was there, he met Anne Reinhart, a secretary at Westinghouse Atomic Energy. They married in 1955. He received a Ph. D in physical chemistry in 1957 after which he moved to Baton Rouge to work for the Exxon Research Laboratories.

After moving to Baton Rouge, they started their family of four children, Cynthia, Joyce, John and Charles. While raising their family, Anne attended LSU as a part time student receiving her degree in sociology in 1974.

He worked for Exxon for 37 years, and was a senior research associate in petroleum processing. After retiring in 1993, he continued studying languages including Spanish, French and renewing his German, which he had learned as a child in Pennsylvania. He taught English to Spanish speaking people at Charles Borromeo School.

With respect to his music, he sang in choirs of St. Agnes, Sacred Heart, St. Thomas Moore and some Protestant churches in the area. He performed solos at many functions and was also a member of the first Baton Rouge Opera Association and the Baton Rouge Choral Society.

He was baptized and confirmed into the Catholic faith at Sacred Heart in 1957, during the time of Monsignor Gauci. He sang with the adult choir directed by Nancy Saxon, and performed beautiful solos for the congregation. His wife and he were fond friends of Father Jerome Dugas.

He was an avid reader who joined with his wife in her work in social service in the church and BREC. He was an ardent advocate for minorities regardless of race, religion or orientation. Having grown up in the Great Depression he was an avid supporter of the Democratic Party.

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 55 years, Anne Marie and his son John.

He is survived by his children, Cindy (Phil) Hanson, Joyce (John) Azhar and Charles (Ramona) Eberly; grandchildren, Jamie Azhar, Andrea Leingang, Allison Hanson, Alex Eberly, Nicholas Eberly; and his only great grandson Colton.

The family would like to give a special thanks to his caregiver and dear friend of 13 years, Beulah Turner, who was with him at his passing.

A visitation will be held at Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Tuesday, October 30, 2018 from 9:30am-10:30am with Mass to follow at 10:30am. Burial will take place at Greenoaks Memorial Park at 12:00pm.