Paul Dean McAllister Sr.

Wyoming on May 23, 1931, to Rhoda and Ira McAlister. Paul was the youngest of nine children. As a

youngster, Paul did many different jobs to help support his family including stoking the furnace at the

church in Dixon and working on his Uncle John Adams Ranch. Paul attended school in Dixon, and later

graduated from Baggs High School. In High School, he was the Captain of the Basketball team and a

Charter Member of the FFA in 1949. Paul was also a Golden Glove Boxer and a Champion of Carbon

County in 1950.

Upon graduation in 1951, at the age of 20, Paul and some friends made the decision to go to Rawlins to

enlist in the Air Force where he served for the next 20 years as a Heavy Weapons and Armament

Technician. While serving in the Air Force, Paul would volunteer for any duty assignment which would

allow him to travel the world. Paul was deployed multiple times and was a Veteran of Korea, Vietnam,

and Indochina. In 1968, he was decorated with the Bronze Star for “Actions while engaged in military

operations against Viet Cong Forces”. His Air Force career enabled this small down Dixon boy to travel

around the world to countries such as Saudi Arabia, Germany, England, Australia, and numerous other

countries, but his heart was always here in Wyoming.

While stationed stateside, Paul met Francis Elizabeth Knox, the love of his life, and they were married in

December of 1966. Paul honorably retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1972 as a Tech Sergeant and

returned to his Uncle John’s ranch in Dixon with his wife Fran and their daughter Charlene. Paul would

work miscellaneous jobs from construction to the oilfield before finally landing a job with Carbon County

Road and Bridge where he worked for the next 18 years.

Paul was an avid water skier, a skill he picked up while stationed in Saudi Arabia and would go on to

teach many of the Snake River youth at Elkhead Reservoir. Once Paul and Fran finally both retired

“again”, they enjoyed traveling in their camper with their little dogs taking many fishing and sightseeing

trips to Canada, Oregon, and Alaska with great friends. Paul and Fran also bought a house in Lake

Havasu, AZ. And began “snow birding” during the winter with their many beloved friends.

The summers here were spent fishing and shooting squirrels with his pal Bob Armbruster. Paul also

loved to care for the Baker Cemetery, which he first began caring for in 1972. He also loved teaching his

little weiner dogs to run an agility course in the front yard.

You could see Paul every day, without fail, driving back and forth from Dixon to Baggs, or weaving in and

out of the streets of Dixon and to the Post Office. He always had a Dum Dum lollipop in his mouth and

waved at you as he passed by, if he could see you! Or you could find him at the Stage Stop trying to

figure out what it was Fran asked him to get for her. But when anyone talked to him, he would be sure to

let you know his age. 103 years old. We all didn’t have the heart to remind him his real age and that 103

was his PO Box number!

Paul passed away peacefully in Dixon in the home he shared with Fran on November 22, 2023. Although he lived a long and fulfilling life for 92 years, he just didn’t see the point of continuing without the love of his life. It’s hard to sum up a man’s adventurous life in a few paragraphs, but if there ever was a hard-working, honest man who saw the world in black and white, it was Paul.

Paul was preceded in death by his wife, Francis McAllister, his parents Ira and Rhoda McAlister, his uncles John and Bill, his sisters Nancy Douglas, Mae Mortensen, Beatrice Roe, Iris Balleck, his brothers Bruce and Donald McAlister, and two other siblings who passed at a young age. (The names are hard to locate). Daughter Catherine Herrian and son, Curtis McAllister.

Paul is survived by his sons Paul McAllister, Jr., Michael McAllister, Eric McAllister, his daughters Charlene Wilson and Vickie LeBrun and his many grandchildren and great grandchildren. A Celebration of Paul's life will be held at 2:00 p.m., Sunday, June 30, 2024, at the Little Snake River Valley Museum. A graveside with military honors will be held at the Baker Cemetery. Light refreshments and desserts will follow the service.