from Parkinson’s disease. He was 91 years old.
Paul is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, April and Rich Hughes; his son and
daughter-in-law, Andy and Marilyn McBrier Artus; his six grandchildren, Kyle and C.J. Norwood, Austin and Abraham Artus; Chris Hughes and Alan Hughes; and his two great grand children, Silas Hughes and Lucy Hughes.
Paul was born on December 23, 1921 in Orange Grove, Texas to the Reverend August and
Martha Artus (f.k.a. Litchty). He was the fourth of seven children: Maria Artus, Martha Artus,
August Artus, Werner Artus, Walter Artus and Katherine (Artus) Taylor. All preceded him in death except Katherine, who died two hours after him in San Antonio, Texas. His brother, Walter, died at age 18 in World War II; a war, in which all the brothers served.
Paul was raised in Poth, Texas, where he was the Captain of the first Poth High School
football team for two years, playing with his brothers, August and Werner. Upon graduation and
during the depression, he moved to Saint Louis, Missouri where he worked at Atlas Du Pont Co. as a TNT pack house supervisor. During WWII, he joined the Coast Guard and served in the Pacific Theater for three years and eight months. Upon discharge (Signalman 3rd class), he obtained his Bachelors of Science Degree and Masters of Economics and Education from Texas A&I University in Kingsville, Texas.
Paul then moved to Corpus Christi, Texas where he became a teacher and taught math in the
public schools for 37 years; first at Northside Junior High, then at South Park Junior High. He was active in the American Federation of Teachers Union. In the early years, when starting his family, and to make ends meet, Paul worked summers at Rodney Grain and Corn Products.
While at Northside Junior High, Paul met March Stuttle, who was the music teacher down
the hall. They fell in love and married on July 30, 1955. Paul and March raised two children and
were married for 51 years until March died of leukemia on January 14, 2007. Paul and March were avid travelers and upon retirement, they enjoyed trips all over the United States and the world including Canada, South America, Europe, and Russia. However, whenever Paul had free time he could always be found on his boat either fishing or working on his boat preparing to fish. For him, fishing was an art and a spiritual experience.
Paul was an active member of Parkway Presbyterian Church since its inception in the 1950's
and served as an Elder and was a member of the choir for several years.
In 2007 Paul moved to Oklahoma City to be near his children and grandchildren where he
quickly made new friends and lived out the last years of his life. Paul had a good life and he will
be greatly missed.
Paul’s family wishes to thank Karen and Ashley Sims of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma for their
loving help and support in caring for Paul during his last few years.
There will be a memorial service to celebrate Paul’s life on Saturday, October 19, 2013 at
3:30 p.m. at the Parkway Presbyterian Church, 3707 Sante Fe, in Corpus Christi, Texas.
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