He is survived by his wife, Rosemary; his son, Chris and wife, Jeanne; daughter, Paula and husband Richard Cudjo; daughter Amy and husband, David Sine; daughter, Marybeth Jones; and 10 grandchildren (Chris, Nick, Victoria, Meg, Kate, Beth, Connor, Brennah, Kathryn, and Robert).
He was born April 1, 1929 in Pittsburgh, PA to Eugene and Hilda Root. He attended St. George Elementary, Knoxville Jr. High and South Hills High School in Pittsburgh. During that time, he worked several paper routes and was the Post Gazette’s paper boy of the year saving his money for college. At the age of 17 he enlisted in the Army, from 1946 to 1948 serving in Guam and Saipan. Following his discharge, he attended Penn State University on the GI Bill and with a fellowship from New York State Gas Co. He received a Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Petroleum Engineering. He then attended the University of Texas receiving his Doctorate in Petroleum Engineering.
He was president and founder of Petroleum and Geological Engineering Inc. During his career, he held teaching positions at the University of Oklahoma, University of Texas, Carnegie Mellon University, Pennsylvania State University and Oklahoma Center for Continuing Education. In addition to his educational pursuits, he was a consultant with the Bureau of Business and Economic Research, Research Fellow with the Office of Science and Public Policy at the University of Oklahoma. He served as the Technical Director of the National Gas Survey conducted by the US Federal Power Commission from 1971 to 1973.
He was a member Tau Beta Pi, Sigma Gamma Epsilon, Pi Epsilon Tau and Sigma Xi Honoraria. His professional associations included the Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME, the American Society of Engineering Education and American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Houston Gas Men’s Association. He has numerous research and technical publications in the field of Petroleum Engineering.
He enjoyed skiing, swimming and aqua aerobics, and held a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. He was an avid follower of University of Oklahoma and Norman High School sports, holding his Oklahoma football season tickets for over 45 years.
As a loving husband, father, and grandfather he will be greatly missed.
A formal viewing will be 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM Friday. Mass of Christian burial will be held 10:00 AM Saturday at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church. Burial will be at Union Dale Cemetery in Pittsburgh, PA.
The family wishes to thank the staff of Norman Regional Hospital and Brookhaven Extensive Care for their compassion and continuous care they gave to Paul.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations be made to the cancer fund of your choice in memory of Paul.
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