Passed away peacefully at Groves Memorial Hospital in Fergus, Ontario on February 22, 2019 with his beloved wife Martha by his side. Paul was the caring father of Roberta Appleton (Bryan) and Susan Freiheit (Roger), and is fondly remembered by their mother Diane Rogers. He was the affectionate grandfather of Kyle, Carmen and Ashley and great grandfather of Tristan. Paul was loved by his sister Joan Patterson (Tom – deceased), and his brother-in-law Thomas Dean (Enza Iovio) as well as his nieces, nephews and their spouses and children. He was predeceased by their parents Hugh and Pauline Rogers. Paul was born in Kitchener, Ontario and grew up in the Kitchener-Waterloo area leading a regular childhood life of sports, friends and drama productions, an interest he carried into his undergraduate days at Laurentian University, where he attended school by day and worked in the mines at night. He also attended University of Waterloo for his MA and the University of Toronto for his M.Ed. as a part-time student and part-time taxi driver during the summer. Paul spent the majority of his career in the education sector, first in Sudbury and then as a high school principal in the Wellington County Board of Education prior to his retirement. His early years were spent in industry, principally in sales and as a trouble-shooter for the American Standard Corporation. During his career and following his retirement, Paul was very active in his local community. He was President of the Wellington Waterloo Community Futures Corporation, on the Board of Futures Health, the Centre Wellington Food Bank and previously on the Boards of the local theatre and the Health Unit. Paul was an active Rotarian his entire adult life, most recently as a Past President and current member of the Fergus-Elora Rotary Club. His many community activities earned him the honour of being selected Centre Wellington Citizen of the Year in 2004. Involvement in community was a value and a priority that Paul learned from his parents at a very young age. Friends are invited to meet with the family at Graham A. Giddy Funeral Home, 280 St. David St. South in Fergus on Friday March 1 from 6:00 – 9:00pm. A Celebration of Life for Paul will be held on Saturday March 2 at 2:00pm at the Elora Road Christian Fellowship Church at 5696 Wellington Road 7, Guelph-Eramosa. The family’s thanks are extended to Dr. Stephen Beamish, his colleagues and the staff at Groves Memorial Hospital for doing their best for Paul in the past few weeks as he struggled with the heart issues that followed his April 2018 cardiac arrest. As an expression of sympathy, in lieu of flowers, donations to the Centre Wellington Food Bank or the Upper Grand Learning Foundation would be appreciated by the family. Online donations and condolences can be left at www.grahamgiddyfh.com
