Donald Paul East was born on December 6, 1937, his mother's 30th birthday present! He was raised in Savannah, Georgia and lived there until he joined the U.S. Navy and went to sea. After his service in the Navy he came to Atlanta to attend Georgia Tech. During his last year at Tech he met Gail Gordon, an Atlanta girl who was attending Emory University. They met at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church and were married one month after she graduated and they had 56 happy years together. He died on February 5, 2019 of complications from a series of strokes. Paul loved gardening and was 4-H Club's Georgia Gardening Champion when he was a teenager. He also loved fishing and boating. He continued his love of gardening all his life and his vegetable gardens were legendary most of what he gave away to others. He was an Associate at Roberts & Company Associates, Architects & Engineers for 31 years until his retirement in 1993. Mr. East discovered genealogy late in life and the discovery of his ancestry led to memberships in many hereditary societies: Sons of the American Revolution, Sons of the Revolution, Society of Colonial Wars, Society of Indian Wars, Sons of American Colonists, Sons & Daughters of the Pilgrims, Society of the War of 1812, Huguenot Society of the Founders of Manakin, the National Huguenot Society, Descendants of Colonial & Antebellum Bench & Bar, Sons of Confederate Veterans and the Military Order of Star and Bars. He was also a member of St. Joseph's Episcopal Church, the Henry County Farm Bureau and the Genealogical Society of Henry & Clayton Counties. Paul was predeceased by his parents, Preston and Sara Lord East, his brothers Charles, Walter and Ralph East and his sister Joan East Milner. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Gail Gordon East, nieces Elsie (Ronald) Clark, Linda (Bob) Delano, Susan (Keith) Kearney, Sara (Trevor) Toth and nephews Walt (LouAnn) East, Joe (MaryAnn) East, David East, Kent (JongMei) Milner, Jim Milner, several grand and great grand nephews and nieces and beloved in-laws. The family wishes to thank Westbury Health & Rehabilitation Center for their loving and compassionate care during the past two years. Visitation will be held at Haisten Funerals & Cremations in McDonough on Saturday, February 9, 2019 from 5:00-7:00pm. A memorial service will be held at 3:00pm on Sunday, February 10, 2019 at St. Joseph's Episcopal Church, 1865 Highway 20, McDonough, GA 30252. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to St. Joseph's Episcopal Church or to Little Blue for Blue Lives, 1549 Highway 42 South, Flovilla, GA 30216.