Paul Tschampel

Paul Tschampel, Jr., a resident of Ossining, NY, died peacefully in his home surrounded by family on September 7, 2025. He was 89 years old. Paul was born on June 13, 1936, in Chicago, Illinois, to the late Paul, Sr. and Ottilia (Kubik) Tschampel. He graduated from Tucson High School at the age of 15 and started college at the University of Arizona (before he was old enough to drive). There, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and a Master of Science in Chemistry. He earned his PhD in Organic Chemistry under the mentorship of Dr. Harold Snyder at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society and Alpha Chi Omega fraternity.

He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Marva Tschampel, their two children, Nicole Tschampel, married to Eric Iversen; and Thomas Tschampel, married to Rebecca Tschampel; as well as three grandchildren, Eli Tschampel, Lila Tschampel, and Nelsina Iversen, his niece, Michelle Taul, married to Steve George and his sister, Mia Tschampel.

From an early age, Paul had a passion for cars. His first car, a graduation gift from his parents, was a Porsche Speedster. He would go on to own a Citroen, VW Bug, a ‘65 Mustang, an Alfa Romeo GTA, a Fiat Abarth, a BMW 2002 (in which both his children came home from the hospital), a Lotus Europa, a Lotus Super Seven, an Audi, an Infiniti, and a Mercedes.

His 1967 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA is being refurbished and on display in the Revs Institute museum in Naples, Florida.

In 1974, he purchased a kit Caterham car and built it with the help of a local mechanic. He loved driving this car around Columbus and could often be spotted dropping off both of his kids at school- both packed into the front passenger seat, strapped in with the same seatbelt.

Paul loved culinary adventures with his family and was always eager to try new foods, cocktails, and restaurants. He will be remembered for his curiosity about every hotdog stand he encountered, his proclivity to order mojitos with fresh mint in the middle of winter, and his love of dark chocolate. He was beloved as the man who entered every medical appointment with multiple high-end chocolate bars to give to his doctors.

Paul worked at Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) from 1966 – 2005 as an editor in industrial organic chemical journal literature. Author abstracts were very rare at this time, and in-house editors and out-of-house volunteers wrote the abstracts. This was before the advent of computers. Paul had a working knowledge of scientific French and German (especially dye patents) and was known for his high productivity and accuracy during his years at CAS (in addition to his awful puns).

Paul attended Ohio State football and basketball games during his time in Columbus. He and his wife, Marva, got excellent tickets due to her employment at the University, and they enjoyed years of tailgating with close friends. After their move to New York, they upgraded their cable package to ensure they could still see all the games together.

Paul was a history buff and avid reader. Going to the library multiple times a week, he enjoyed reading science fiction, spy novels, mysteries, and history books. His favorite book was “The Martian Chronicles” by Ray Bradbury, and his favorite short story was “The Hills of Green Earth” by Robert A. Heinlein.

Paul cherished the transportive power of fiction—the way it could draw readers so completely into a vivid world that they felt not only part of the story, but as if they truly knew its characters. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in his honor to the Columbus Metropolitan Library in Columbus, Ohio or the Ossining Public Library in Ossining, New York.

All services are private.