Paul Steedle

Paul is the grandson of two pairs of immigrants—one Irish and one German. Both being Catholic was a plus, but there were roadblocks along the way for his German father and Irish mother. Nonetheless, he grew up in a contented environment, with two older brothers, in Homewood, Pennsylvania, a neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

In 1964, he married Dorothy Evans, from the small town of Zelienople, Pennsylvania, about thirty miles north of Pittsburgh. After the wedding, the couple promptly moved to Phoenix, Arizona, to escape the steel city smog and winter weather. That would be the first of many moves for the Steedles over the years.

After Phoenix, which lasted eleven years, it was Reno, Nevada for three; then Seattle, Washington for thirty years, during which two daughters were born and raised; after retirement, an eleven-year stint in Blissfield, Michigan; then back to the Pacific Northwest—Vancouver, Washington, to be exact, in 2017.

During all those years and all those moves, Paul’s career was accelerating as well. Starting in Phoenix as office manager in a small print shop, he rose through various management positions to his last job before retirement, where he was in charge of multiple departments at Unigard Insurance in Seattle. He was a loved and respected boss by all employees in every location.

Paul made his final move to Portland, just across the river from Vancouver, in November 2024. The couple was settling into their apartment at the Terwilliger Plaza Senior Living facility, when his health began to fail, and on April 26, 2025, he passed away peacefully in his sleep. He is survived by Dorothy, his wife of sixty years, his daughter Erica and son-in-law, Craig Hughes; son-in-law Tim Walters; four grandsons—Ethan, Aaron. Adam Walters and Jack Hughes; and one granddaughter, Evan Hughes. Numerous nieces and nephews also mourn his loss.

Paul made friends wherever he went, and he was loved by all who knew him. He was smart, kind and thoughtful, and loved watching sports on TV, with a beer in hand. He constantly made everyone laugh with his sharp one-liners. He was accomplished at needlepoint, with a huge inventory of beautifully worked tapestries, many of which hung on the walls of their various homes.

His humor, his open-mindedness, his happy demeanor will be remembered and missed by all.