Paul E. Koontz

Paul E. Koontz Jr., 83, most recently of Aberdeen, passed away of natural causes on November 28, 2017.

He was the first born son of Paul Koontz Sr. and Anna Marie Elliott Koontz in Portland on June 27, 1934 and moved six days later to Elliott Point on the lower Columbia River where he maintains that same property as a memorial to his mother and is still a gathering place for family and friends.

Paul graduated from Naselle High School in 1951 where he met the love of his life, Elsie Buskala. They were married for 62 years until her passing in 2015. He is also predeceased by his parents and his brother Fred Koontz. His sister Marianne Koontz of Taholah survives him.

Paul is also survived by his children: Michael (Beverly) Koontz of Elma, Susan Strom of Lakewood, Perry (Christa) Koontz of Germany, and Jenita (Jim) Vogt of Snohomish. He cherished his grandchildren: Andrea Guyer, Michael Paul Koontz, Shaun Hartgrove, Paul Jesse Hartgrove, Ken Koontz, Heidi Shrader, Steve Vogt, Christopher Koontz, Tommy Koontz, and Mary Parcher. His nine great grandchildren were a source of great pride and joy. He is also survived by several nieces and nephews and their families.

Paul spent his life starting at a young age working on the river and in Alaska with his uncles and then lied about his age to work in the woods for Cap Schmand and after starting a family moved to Longview as a boat builder at Tolleycraft before moving into heavy construction as a union carpenter millwright as well as boilermaker. He was a project supervisor for several major construction companies until his retirement in 1997.

His other activities included being an active member of the First Baptist Church in Longview, a baseball coach from T-ball through Legion. He spent many hours hunting ducks and fishing on the river and was well accomplished and always accompanied by his faithful dog, Lucky. Paul hunted deer and elk as well as game birds for many years with his uncles and cousins on family property and provided for many meals. As the oldest of his generation he enjoyed playing the surrogate big brother to his extended family in Dahlia as well as his brother and sister and still did well into his 80’s.

Paul embraced his Indian heritage and was an elder in the Quinault Nation, where he enjoyed volunteering with cultural events at the Reservation. He had a great musical gift with a harmonica and concertina and played ragtime music on the piano and had a great voice for storytelling.

Graveside service will be held at the Eden Valley Cemetery December 9 at 1 p.m., with a lunch gathering immediately following at the Rosburg Hall. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Eden Valley Cemetery or The American Legion. Dowling Funeral Home in Cathlamet is handling the arrangements.

- Paid Obituary -