Rich Paulson

Richard Dean Paulson fell asleep in the Lord peacefully on September 21, 2024 after a short illness. He was 74 years young.

Rich, as he was known to loved ones and friends, was born January 17, 1950 in Vancouver, Washington to Louis and Wilma Paulson. He and Maria were married June 29, 1975. Rich was received into the Greek Orthodox faith through Chrismation July 23, 1985-the same date as his son Stephen's baptism.

He is predeceased in death by his parents, older brothers Lyle L. Paulson, and Ronald M. Paulson, and brother-in-law Kenneth Hall. Rich is survived by his loving wife of 49 years Maria (Kalemeris) Paulson, sons Jason (Blair) Paulson, and Stephen (Deborah) Paulson, and by six wonderful Paulson grandchildren- Evan, Joshua, Brooklyn, Stella, Dean, and Scarlett. He is also survived by his mother-in-law Stella Kalemeris, brother-in-law Arthur Kalemeris, several first cousins, nieces, nephews, and many relatives in Alberta, Canada.

Rich enlisted in the US Air Force in July 1968, and served honorably for 21 years, retiring August 31, 1989 with the rank of Senior Master Sergeant (E8) from Kirtland AFB.

After basic training & tech school, where he trained in munitions maintenance, at 19 he was sent overseas to Ubon AB in Thailand during the Vietnam War. Next was his first assignment to Plattsburgh AFB in upstate New York for one year, and then to Cam Ranh Bay Vietnam, where he worked in the munitions area, and was a tail gunner on helicopters. After a year he was back at Plattsburgh AFB where he met Maria in a college bar called Goobers. They were both fond of saying he "picked Maria up in a bar" when asked how they met. Their travels together took them to two tours in England at RAF Lakenheath and RAF Welford, where Jason was born in Reading, England; two tours at Shaw AFB in South Carolina, and 5 1/2 years at Spangdahlem AB in what was then known as West Germany, where Stephen was born at Bitburg AB just down the road. Eventhough Rich was extremely busy in England and West Germany, he and Maria traveled to many amazing places. Rich earned his BS Degree while overseas, and his Masters as a veteran.

Upon his retirement from the Air Force, Rich worked at Intel, and also for government contract companies for DOE doing safety work. He also took several trips to Singapore for a company called SCSI, teaching munitions and explosives safety to the Royal Singapore Air Force. He retired again in May 2011.

Rich loved to go hunting and fishing, telling plenty of stories of his adventures to his friends. He was a huge life-long fan of the Green Bay Packers football team, through good and bad. But above all else Rich loved his family, and was devoted to them.

Funeral services will be held at St. George Greek Orthodox Church, 308 High St. SE, Albuquerque, NM 87102, 10am on Friday, September 27, 2024. Burial will take place at Pougkeepsie Rural Cemetery, Poughkeepsie, NY in mid-October where honors for his service to our country will be bestowed.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Rich's memory to St. George Church in Albuquerque, NM.