Paul Dakota Schlegel

 Paul Dakota Schlegel was born in Rapid City, South Dakota, on March 1, 1942, to Clifford and Marion Schlegel. Their family continued to live in South Dakota until Paul was five years old at which time they moved to Merced, California, when Paul’s dad became the editor of the Merced Sun newspaper.

 Growing up in the region known as the Gateway to Yosemite National Park, Paul developed a love for spending time in the outdoors while camping with his family and fishing with his dad. Paul also learned to golf from his father and went on to be a participant on the state-winning Merced High School golf team. Other hobbies in his younger years included backcountry enduro dirt-biking and photography.

Paul’s mechanical mind and curiosity in figuring out how things worked blossomed when he purchased his first car, took it apart piece by piece, and then figured out how to put it all back together again. He also built a canoe in high school shop class and his family took a trip to Canada to try it out. Paul went on to pursue his mechanical interests academically as he obtained a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. He then worked as a mechanical design engineer the rest of his professional career at five companies in California and Colorado, including Douglas Aircraft Corporation, Ball Aerospace, Gates Corporation, Cobe Laboratories, and Hach Company.

At a picnic gathering of mutual friends, Paul met the love of his life, Clara Lucille Futch. They were married on March 30, 1969, at Gulf Prairie Presbyterian Church in Jones Creek, Texas. Paul and Clara were blessed with 55 wonderful years of marriage: 50 of which were in Boulder, Colorado, and the past 5 years in Montrose, Colorado. They have two children, Neal and Mary Beth. Paul enjoyed spending time together with his family and friends hiking, skiing, biking, sailing, and snowshoeing. He was always grateful for the opportunities to spend time with his sister, Roslyn, and her family when visiting them in Australia and England or having them come to the United States. Additionally, Paul loved his extended family in Colorado and New Mexico and treasured spending holidays together as well as special trips to Lake Powell and Crested Butte. Paul was thrilled to be the grandfather of five grandsons and looked forward to being with each one of them.

Paul placed his faith in Jesus Christ as his Savior. In addition to the priority of growing in his personal relationship with Jesus, Paul served his local church. He was a Deacon, Elder, and long-time greeter at the First Presbyterian Church of Boulder.

Paul was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease 17 years ago. He was inspired by the Davis Phinney Foundation to remember that “Every Victory Counts”. He participated in multiple Davis Phinney events to raise awareness about the benefits of exercise in individuals with Parkinson’s Disease, including the Road 2 Victory bike rides around Boulder and the 79-mile Copper Triangle.

Paul passed away peacefully at home on August 7, 2024, in Montrose, Colorado, from complications of Parkinson’s Disease.

Paul is survived by his wife, Clara Schlegel; sister, Roslyn Elwing; son and family, Neal, Kristen, Luke, Calvin, and Ian Schlegel; daughter and family, Mary Beth, Adam, Jonah, and Jeremiah Renfrow. He was greatly loved and will be deeply missed by all who knew him.

A Celebration of Life honoring Paul Schlegel will take place on Thursday, August 15, 2024, at First Presbyterian Church of Montrose at 2:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Davis Phinney Foundation for Parkinson’s or First Presbyterian Church of Montrose.