Paul J. Paslay
Paul J. Paslay of Modesto died March 10 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. He was 77.
Paslay was born in 1939 in Peterborough, England. He came to Livermore, California at age 12 and graduated from Livermore High School in 1956. He had lifetime friendships with Ted Saselli, Tony Dean Berry and Gene Strom. He later joined the U.S. Army and served time in Germany. While in Germany, he started a pen friendship with Brenda and after only three times together, they married in Germany. In 1963, they came to Livermore where Paslay started working at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He had a 30-year career as an electrician and advanced up the ranks to a division leader at Site 300. In 1976, the family moved to Turlock and settled into country life and made many friends. After retirement in 1991, Paslay and his wife moved to Washington State and made more memories there. In 1999, they moved back to California, residing in Pioneer and then settling in Modesto.
Paslay had many hobbies. He loved gardening, fishing, baking, camping and woodworking. Any home they moved to, he would remodel it, taking pride in his work. He and his wife spent many years traveling, whether it was visiting relatives in England, touring the United States or camping at Hope Valley or Sunset Beach. Family was very important to him, and he especially enjoyed any event that involved his grandchildren.
Paslay is survived by his wife of 54 years, Brenda, and their children, Susan (Larry) and Phillip (Karen). He had three grandsons, Nicholas (Christen), Brock and Jack. He also had two step-grandsons, Ben (Becca) and Matt (Kristi) and seven step great grandchildren. He also is survived by his extended California family and many cousins who live in England. He is predeceased by his parents and siblings.
A celebration of life will be held at 1 p.m. on April 1 at the Allen Mortuary Event Center, 239 N. Broadway, Turlock, California, 95380. In lieu of flowers, please make donations in Paslay's name to the Alzheimer’s/Dementia Support Center Inc., 700 McHenry Avenue, Suite #B, Modesto, California, 95350.
