Paul Egbert, 80

1934 to 2015

Paul, the son of a carpenter, grew up in South Lake Tahoe, Calif. Moving to the San Francisco Bay area, he went to and graduated class of 1952 at Mt. Diablo High School, which his father helped build and years later his son Monte would also attend. His excellence in athletics there earned him induction into the Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.

Paul, and his high school best friend Skip Schultz, joined the U.S. Air Force together. Soon after Paul and Skip's induction as aircraft mechanics, Paul received orders and was sent to the Korean War before being stationed in Japan. There, Paul continued his athletics, becoming a poster boy for the Air Force while serving in Japan. He competed in the Track and Field Decathlon event, eventually taking him all the way to the Olympic trials in Riverside, Calif., in 1956. If that was not enough, Paul also played 14 years of football - culminating in being a part of a championship football team for the Air Force while serving in Japan - and also earning a black belt in Judo at the famous Kodokan Institute.

Paul's lifestyle of excellence extended well into his post-service career working for large companies like Boeing and Global, taking him to exotic places like Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands all the way through the Midwest and as far north as Minot, N.D. on our country's ICBM missile system managing big government projects.

Throughout Paul's life, he was an avid outdoorsman enjoying hunting, fishing, snow skiing, ocean sailing with his son, and the wind in his face with his wife on the back of his Harley Davidson.

In Paul's many pursuits, he also managed the time to become an accomplished painter and sculptor selling his art at showings and to many a collector. But in all this, it was halfway through his life before he found true love. A love that lasted their 30-plus years together, all the way to the bedside of his passing, his lovely wife Karen Egbert, whom he often referred to as his "little angel."

Paul and Karen retired to Coeur d'Alene where Paul built their home himself on a property overlooking the lake, a place reminiscent of the beauty he enjoyed as a kid growing up in the South Lake Tahoe Basin. Success, and love, is the legacy he left.

In fond memory, Paul Egbert is survived by his wife Karen Egbert; children Monte Egbert and Suzy Egbert; brother Rod Egbert; sister Bonnie Reed; and their families.