Keepsake Weir[1]

...continued

Paul was diagnosed

with pancreatic cancer in January. In the last 6 weeks of his life, he enjoyed carrying on the tradition of going out to breakfast with Joe every Saturday morning, getting to know the residents at “The Rose,” (an assisted living facility he had Paul with grandchildren just moved into in December), and he loved the people from Hospice of Central Iowa, especially Dana, his nurse. Paul enjoyed all the visits he received. There were too many to list, but I would like to list two. Two weeks before he died, his first wife’s sister Takako and her husband Fred, who lived across the road from Paul and Sumiko in Alaska, drove out from Arizona and stayed for almost a week, reminiscing about old times and friends. Then his church family came and visited and sang for him just three days before he died. It was the last evening that he was coherent and able to enjoy his friends. Paul breathed his last on Friday, Feb. 27, 2009 at 11:30 P.M. His son and daughter-in-law were with him. He will be buried in May at the Glennallen Community Cemetery in Alaska beside his beloved wife Sumiko. He once said that he had never purposely hurt anyone. His hope was in Christ, and he looked forward to reuniting with his loved ones in heaven.

In L

Sumiko and Paul in Japan (circa 1950)

emory... M g ovin

Julian Paul Weir

Sumiko and Paul

25th Wedding Anniversary



“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7 (KJV)

If you desire to give a gift in Paul’s name, we suggest Hospice of Central Iowa. You can donate online at hospiceofcentraliowa.org.

“Teardrops are the treasures of thought ~ tender but shimmering with the blessings of yesterday.” Photography of Mt. Drum, Alaska provided by www.wildnatureimages.com Designed by www.artistryinprint.com

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3 to F ebruary 28, 2009

Julian “Paul” Weir was born “Ches-

ter Crump” on Aug. 15, 1923, in Ballinger, TX. He was adopted from the Texas Children’s Home and Aid Society by Joseph and Lola Weir and grew up in Ft. Worth, TX. Paul’s dad was a barber, and was not always able to work because of his asthma, and money was usually tight. Paul said that his dad never gave him more than a nickel. Paul got his first job delivering Liberty magazine. He sold 33 magazines a week, and made 1.25 cents per magazine. Paul worked full time (7 days/week) all through high school (making deliveries for a pharmacy). He always told the story of failing English three times. By the last time, he knew all the answers, even if he didn’t understand them, and so his teacher would send him out to get them each a Coke. He finally received his high school diploma while stationed in the South Pacific. Paul enlisted in the Navy on Oct. 10, 1941, and was trained as an aviation machinist. Shortly afterwards, Pearl Harbor was attacked and after a brief stop in New Zealand he was sent to Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides Islands. He later ended up at Guadalcanal. He flew in a B-24 as a belly gunner and he and his crew were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for action in the Solomon Islands from January to September, 1943. Following the war, Paul was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy on 12-22-45. In an attempt to earn some extra money, he re-enlisted, this time in the Marine Reserves. The Korean War started shortly after, and he was stationed in Japan. He spent the war overseeing an aviation machine shop.

While in Nagoya,

Japan he met Sumiko Inoue, 10 years his junior, and fell in love.

His commanding officer prohibited him from marrying a Japanese woman, and so he got out of the service (discharged Nov. 26, 1951 at the rank of gunnery sargeant). As soon as he was able, he went back to Japan to get her. On Mar. 10, 1952, at the American Consulate in Nagoya, they were married. Paul said they went to a little tea-house afterwards and he put a ring on her finger. They spent several years in Sunnyvale, CA working for Pan American World Airlines (he, working on airplanes, Sumiko in the flight kitchen), during which time they were able to adopt Sumiko’s younger siblings and bring them and her mother over to the United States. In 1960 Paul built a trailer house, and pulling it with a surplus Air Force 6 x 6, drove to Alaska. They (he and their German Shepherd) made less than 30 mph, and there was no heat in the truck. It was a trip that took 3 months. After he settled in Glennallen, AK, the family joined him. The first few years were rough. They hauled water, lived in the trailer, got odd jobs, and one winter lived on caribou meat, dropped off by his army friends. Things got better though. Paul worked as a lineman for Alaska Communication Service, and eventually bought a small gas station (Glennallen Texaco) and built up a sporting goods store, selling guns and fishing supplies.

Sumiko was not able to have children, so in 1965, after 13

years of marriage they were thrilled to get a call from the Children’s Aid Society of Oregon, that a half-Asian baby was available. They immediately flew to Oregon and picked up Joey.

Paul was very involved in politics. He grew up in a Democrat family, but while he was working for Pan Am he became a conservative Republican through listening to the guys in the shop talk about politics. He campaigned tirelessly for Barry Goldwater in 1964. He was a delegate to the 1968 Republican National Convention when Nixon became the party’s candidate for president. He was School Board Chairman for the Glennallen Public School for many years, and ran (unsuccessfully) for State Representative, District 17. One of the hardest times in Paul’s life was when Sumiko became sick with colon cancer. She died March 10, 1982, 30 years to the day, from their wedding day. Paul said they had never gone to bed angry with each other.

Paul loved Alaska. He loved seeing moose and Caribou

walk through his yard. He liked to hunt, fish (he liked to tell of catching an octopus in Prince William Sound which he was going to throw back, but Sumiko, said “Oh, no!” and they took it home and ate it. Sumiko was a wonderful cook.). He also enjoyed prospecting for gold. He built a boat for that purpose and took it up the Yukon River. He had a few nuggets to show for his trouble. He talked for years of his battle with the IRS over whether the boat qualified as a business expense. Always independent and self-sufficient, he built a log home for Sumiko not long before she died. He had his own sawmill and did most of the work himself. He loved looking out of his windows at Mt. Drum in the Wrangell Mountains.

Paul with son, Joe

Paul spent the last 12 years of his life living with his son (off and on) in Iowa. He enjoyed being closer to Joe and his grandkids, Sasha, Sumiko, and Adam, but he always missed Alaska. One of his last adventures was to go to the Philippines and marry Naomi Esperon. They were together off and on for several years, but finally divorced in 2008. He always managed to notice a cute girl, even after going blind in 2006.