Mt. Washington — Paul Van Deusen died at Massachusetts General Hospital on August 21, 2015. He grew up in Alford, Mass., and was 1 of 4 children raised by Alfred S. Van Deusen (Bud) and his wife Eleanor. Paul and the other children attended the one-room schoolhouse in Alford for grades 1-4. Paul then went to Sheffield Center School and Mount Everett Regional High School for grades 9 and 10, but completed the last two years of high school at Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington.
Paul enjoyed school and had an affinity to math. He received a bachelor’s degree in forest management from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst in 1975. He then spent two years in the Peace Corps in Jamaica (1976-1977) where he assisted the Jamaican Forest Service with surveying land and planting Caribbean Pines. After the Peace Corps, he decided to stay in forestry, but specialize in the mathematical specialty area of Forest Biometrics. He was able to obtain a position as research assistant at Mississippi State University in Starkville, Miss. After obtaining a master’s degree from MSU in 1979, he worked there for two years as a research associate. He obtained another research assistance grant from the University of California, Berkeley and obtained a Ph.D. in forest Biometrics in 1984. After Berkeley, Paul worked for the USDA Forest Service for 10 years at the Southern Forest Experiment Station in New Orleans, La.
Paul met and married his beloved wife, Shirley, in New Orleans and they both agreed they would rather raise their son, Daryl, closer to home. Paul obtained a job with a forest products industry funded research organization called the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement at an office north of Boston in 1994. After several downsizings, he continued to work for NCASI out of his home office. Paul worked on studies involving endangered species, such of the Northern Spotted Owl, and performed various computer simulations and data analyses that were important for the forest industry to sustainably manage their land.
Paul’s retirement plans were to repurchase some of the land around the old family homestead in Mount Washington, Mass., and then restore the house and property to a state where it could remain in the family for another generation. The old farmhouse and a large acreage had been purchased in 1820 by his great-great-great grandparents, Cornelius and Rachel Spurr, who had five children before 1820 and five more over the next 11 years. They lived at that location until completing a new home around 1827 a short distance from the original home. This eventually became an important boarding house called Penny Royal Arms, which still exists. Paul purchased a piece of land from his father (Bud) in the late 1980’s, because Bud had health issues and needed money for medical bills. When is Aunt, Doris Southergill, passed away in 2007 he purchased her land from her sons to create a block around the old family homestead. Paul’s Aunt Lucile Van Deusen passed away in 2012 and kindly left him the house. Lucile’s property and his property then created a large buffer around the house that could be protected from development.
Paul moved there with his family in 2012, while continuing to work for NCASI and began the restoration process. Some work had been done by Lucille Van Deusen with the help of her nephew and Paul’s cousin Morgan Bulkeley. Paul had learned construction skills from his father and planned to continue the restoration process with the help of his son Daryl. He realized part of his retirement goal as being the next caretaker for the family property. However, he was taken from this world sooner than expected. There are no guarantees in life, so his message to you is live it well and prepare yourself to leave without being ashamed of what you have done. You never know when your creator will call you away to account for yourself.
Paul’s immediate family that is left behind include: wife Shirley and son Daryl of Mount Washington; his older brother Alfred S. Van Deusen of Alford and his nearby son Mac Van Deusen and daughter Stacey Skorput; his older sister and her husband Phyllis and Lex Tumsaroch in Wilmington, Mass., and their son Michael currently living in Thailand; and his younger sister Joan Darragh and her son Daniel of Bedford, N.H. His family will remember Paul as a loving husband, father, brother, and uncle. He will be missed for his kind, wise, and caring nature.
A memorial service followed by a reception will be held on Saturday, August 29 at 2 p.m. at the Church of Christ in Mount Washington, Mass.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations in memory of Paul Van Deusen to the Church of Christ, Mt. Washington Mass., c/o FINNERTY & STEVENS FUNERAL HOME, 426 Main Street, Great Barrington, MA 01230, who is caring for the arrangements. To send remembrances to his family or sign the guestbook please go to www.finnertyandstevens.com.
