Paul Frederick Carlisle

Paul Frederick Carlisle passed away peacefully in his Ridgefield, Washington home on 21 May 2024 due to complications from COPD at the age of 74. Paul is survived by his wife of nearly 53 years, Cindi, daughters Kathi (Steve) Fountain and Anne Carlisle, grandchildren Huxley Fountain and Finley Carlisle, sister Patricia (Dan) Domine, and cousins, nieces, and nephews across the country. George and Lois Carlisle, Paul's loving parents, preceded him in death in 2002 and 1981 respectively. As a proud veteran of the Vietnam War, Paul will be laid to rest in Willamette National Cemetery.

Born in Evergreen Park, Illinois in 1949 and raised in the outskirts of Chicago and Bend, Oregon, Paul grew up exploring the woods around his childhood homes. While Paul spent part of his career as a mechanic, co-owning the Japanese Beetle as a young man, he had a lifelong love of being outside hunting, trapping, and fishing. He loved chatting with friends at the annual Waldo Lake Rendezvous, telling his family amusing and rambling stories of his exploits, cracking non-stop puns (some of which we'll miss), and working in the garage endlessly on his hobbies. Our family often joked that Paul was born 100 years too late, since he would have thrived as a real-life Jeramiah Johnson. He's passed along his love for animals to his family, though we all much prefer shooting them with cameras. 

At any rate, what was the full measure of Paul? His daughters are convinced he was the original "Dad" in Dad Jokes, having never missed the opportunity to tell a real groaner. He was a recovering alcoholic who lived his last 38 years sober. He was a traditional family man who maintained strong ties to his Carlisle and Wiese families, giving us all wonderful memories of camping trips, barbeques, and laughs. He was a UFO enthusiast who introduced his kids to the all time best sci-fi film, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The only Republican in the family, Paul regularly shook his head at the opinions of the rest of us. 

Never one to spend any money unnecessarily, Paul embodied what he described as his best (being frugal) and his worst (being cheap) qualities until the very end. We will honor his request for a simple funeral with simple trappings, and we welcome your remembrances as we grieve his passing. 

Paul always thought the last thing he needed was a burial plot. He was right.