Paul Damron

Paul Edwards Damron passed away at home with family around him on February 13, 2025, at the wise age of 85. He was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.

He was born in Ferron, Utah on March 22, 1939, to Carl Damron and Enid Edwards. As an only child raised on a farm, Paul learned to appreciate nature and develop a love of hard work and the outdoors. As a young man, he eagerly served a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the New England States Mission. In 1962, he landed two things: 1) a summer job in Wyoming at the Jackson Lake Lodge: 2) fellow worker Kathleen Jensen! They were married in the Manti Utah Temple on December 21, 1962. They graduated from BYU together in 1964, as they started their family. Paul later completed a Masters Degree at BYU in the summer of 1973. Much later, as the father of eight, working a full-time job, Paul plowed away tirelessly to complete a doctoral dissertation in Religious Studies, but it was not to be.

Paul’s love of learning and gospel study led him to Western Samoa, where he became an ESL teacher. He was also elected as mayor of Pesega. Returning to the US, he became a seminary teacher with stints in Idaho, Arizona, and Utah. In 1981, the Church sent him to Maine as Church Education System (CES) coordinator and he had to uproot his large family from Utah to introduce them to a whole new life in the East. His work took him all over New England. He loved sharing the gospel with people of all ages wherever he went. He often carried a copy of The Book of Mormon and shared it with people on airplanes, buses, sporting events, dance recitals…you name it! Just before retiring in 2003, he was given the assignment for the Education in Zion display project and conducted hundreds of interviews for the Church History Department that would later be curated in the Joseph F. Smith Memorial building on the BYU campus. His interviews included such luminaries as NASA astronaut Don Lind.

He loved to spend time with his family sharing the gospel and playing games. He enjoyed hiking, camping, farming, reading, and exercising (running, basketball, skiing, and tennis). Paul was an avid record keeper, filling 36 personal journals. He learned to play the guitar and the piano and studied languages such as German, Spanish, Greek, and Welsh. Much of his time with his family was spent on the water in the beautiful state of Maine. He led his family in lots of fun activities including canoeing, swimming, sailing, tubing, and jumping off the covered bridge on the Penobscot River in Windham, ME. He loved to travel the world with his wife, friends, and work colleagues. Paul liked to sing and often sang silly songs to his children.

Paul was dedicated to service throughout his life. He served in countless Church leadership positions and was always there to lend a helping hand to those in need. He and his wife served two 18-month volunteer missions; 1) Heidelberg, Germany (2005 - 2007), and 2) London, England (2011 - 2013). Paul was deeply and lovingly committed to spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ to anyone who would listen, whether they wanted to hear it or not.

Paul was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his wife Kathleen and their nine children: David (Dawn, TN), Mark (Susan, ME), Danny (Julie, UT), Julie (Vic, UT), Nanette (Benton, UT), Pamela (Carl, UT), Jonathan (Nicole, AZ), Amy (Jeffrey, France), and Frankie (born Michelle, ME). Paul is also survived by 26 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren who loved him dearly.

(Updated location)
Funeral services will be held Thursday, February 20, 2025 at 11:00 am in the Battlecreek 1st Ward Chapel, 1250 East 200 South, Pleasant Grove, Utah. Family and friends may attend a viewing from 9:00 – 10:30 am prior to the services. Interment will be in the Pleasant Grove City Cemetery under the direction of Olpin Family Mortuary, Pleasant Grove. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.olpinmortuary.com.