Obituary: Zemke, Paul Edward

Mohave resident Paul Edward Zemke, loving husband of Debbie Zemke for 38 years, passed away unexpectedly on July 5, 2012 after a short illness.

He died in a city he loved, Las Vegas, after enjoying time with his wife and part of his family.
Paul leaves behind a long and lasting legacy through the family he loved so much, including two sons, Brian and Erik, their wives, Mary Beth and Jennifer, and four grandchildren, Cody, Joey, Kaitlyn and Grace.
Paul was a dedicated family man who built his life around his nearly four-decade long marriage to Debbie while also taking care to assure his sons and their families had all the love and support they needed to grow and flourish in their own lives.
Paul was born to Carl Edward Zemke and Barbara Marie Zemke 57 years ago in Los Angeles, California.

His mother lives today in Ft. Mohave.

Paul is also survived by two sisters, Pamela Patterson of San Diego, California, and Susan Podeschi of Dallas, Texas, and a younger brother, Michael Zemke of Tacoma, Washington, as well as his mother-in-law, Sylvia Hanson, a Ft. Mohave resident.

Prior to retiring recently in Arizona, Paul worked as a sub-station manager for Inland Power & Light in Spokane, Washington, where he started as a lineman nearly 20 years ago.

He was a dedicated technician who took immense pride in his work and in serving the public, especially during electrical outages and natural disasters.

He was also an expert woodworker who enjoyed creating furniture, artwork and other keepsakes for his family and friends.

Paul loved boating, fishing and water sports of all kinds.

He got his passion for the outdoors from his father, and passed on his enjoyment to his own children.

Paul will always be remembered for his fun-loving life, his wry sense of humor, which was always evident in good times and bad, and for his dedication to his family.

He will be badly missed by everyone he knew and loved.

To celebrate his life, his family is planning a commemorative event on July 14, 2012, at the Swinging Doors restaurant in Spokane at 2 p.m. All of his family and friends are welcome to attend.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to a charity of choice in Paul’s name.