San Francisco Chronicle

Paul Lincoln Armstrong, Jr. Oct 13, 1929-May 25, 2013

Paul passed away unexpectedly Saturday, May 25, with Joan, his wife of 59 years, daughter Sally Dixon and son Peter Armstrong at his side.

Born in Los Angeles, Paul's family moved to Pasadena in the 1940s. He attended Caltech, graduating in 1951, BS in Applied Chemistry and in 1954, MS in Chemical Engineering. He served as a Lieutenant Engineering Officer on the USS Manchester during the Korean conflict.

Paul married Joan Thompson of Palo Alto, CA on August 30, 1953.

His profession as a chemical engineer took his family nationwide, including stops in New York, Tennessee, Oregon and Louisiana. They moved back to California in 1975, where he made Orinda and then Walnut Creek his home.

Paul had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and was an avid reader. In 1981, Paul graduated from Golden Gate University School of Law and became an In-House Legal Counsel for the environmentally-responsible engineering consulting firm Brown and Caldwell, retiring in 1993.

In retirement Paul enjoyed playing bridge, the piano, gardening, hiking Yosemite trails and traveling with his wife.

He was a supporter of the San Francisco Symphony, fine arts museums, Yosemite Conservancy, Planned Parenthood and the Mt. Diablo Peace Center. As they moved, one constant was their life in the Unitarian Church, most recently in San Francisco and then Walnut Creek.

In addition to his wife and children, Paul is survived by son-in-law Brett Dixon of Lake Oswego, OR, and beloved grandchildren Holly and Heather Dixon of Lake Oswego and Sam Armstrong of Walnut Creek. He was immensely proud of them all. He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Pia W. Armstrong.

A Celebration of Life will be held at the Mt. Diablo Unitarian-Universalist Church at 2 PM on Saturday, June 15, 2013. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Planned Parenthood Shasta-Pacific, 2185 Pacheco St., Concord, 94520, or Mt. Diablo Unitarian-Universalist Church, 55 Eckley Lane, Walnut Creek, CA 94596.

Published in San Francisco Chronicle on June 9, 2013