Paul Lefevers

Paul Lefevers (no middle name, no middle initial. Paul None Lefevers is a completely different fella, and we’ve never met him) was born on April 19th, 1945 in Kettle Island, Kentucky, which is a coal town that you should probably never visit, and definitely not after dark. Paul was the 7th of eight children born to Otis Lefevers, a poor, illiterate coal miner, and his wife, Rosie Bullins Lefevers, who was a borderline genius in her unparalleled ability to raise children with nothing more than a broom, which she used to beat the rattlesnakes away.

Paul managed to graduate high school, a feat which brought him no small amount of well-deserved pride, as he was the first in his family to do so. Soon after graduation, he joined the Air Force and served a tour in Vietnam. I mention this because I think he’s a Big Damn Hero. He would disagree.

After his military service, Paul would describe his life as a series of misadventures fueled by stupidity and Jim Beam. And then he stumbled into a Wisconsin tavern and fell in love with the bartender, my mother, Janet Bowes Lefevers. They married in 1972.

Paul worked for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections while supporting his family and then retired with his wife to Citrus Springs, Florida. There, he cared tirelessly for my mother, who’d been crippled by arthritis, pushing her in her wheelchair out on countless Florida beaches and over hundreds of miles of Florida trails. When Janet became too ill to enjoy these adventures, Paul hospiced her at home until her death in 2019.

Paul died on January 11th, 2025, after a blessedly brief illness. He is survived by his daughter, Kori (Brett) Henning; his daughter Stacey Schultz; his grandson, Braeton Henning; his grandson, Jesse (Mariah) Schultz; his brother, Charles (Judy) Lefevers; his special friend and neighbor Linda Garretson, and his best canine friends, Sadie, Charlie and Copper, who are desperately missing their grandpa.

Paul often liked to lament, as we lived and aged and grew up together these past few years, that he’d wished he’d been a better father. I know I told you when it mattered, Dad, but I’m going to tell you again, because I know you didn’t believe me: I didn’t need a “better” father. All I needed was you. I have always been and will forever be grateful that you’re mine.

On behalf of my family and my father, I would like to express my deepest and most heartfelt gratitude to the physicians and staff at HCA Citrus Hospital in Inverness, especially Dr. Golkar, OR nurse Paula, ER nurse Ben, and ICU nurses Robin, Darlene, Donna, Bella and the entire critical care team. You fought valiantly, like the heroes you are, and I can’t thank you enough.

Per Paul’s wishes, no services will be held, and he will be buried at sea.