Obituary

Our dear husband, father, grandpa, brother and friend, Paul Sawhill, passed away following a courageous battle against lung cancer.

Paul grew up on the Eastside of Des Moines where he lived the rest of his life. He was proud to be a Union Carpenter, part of Local 106 taking after his Dad and Grandpa who were also skilled Carpenters. Paul was very proud of the fact that his son, Tom, also carries on the tradition and skills of carpentry. Paul worked alongside his brother Mark, son Tom and many close friends as a carpenter. He worked tirelessly to provide a happy, loving home for his family.

Paul met his wife and best friend of 47 years, Kathy, in 1977. It was blind date arranged by Kathy’s brother Ed. It was love at first sight, and they knew after two months they wanted to get married. After marrying in 1978, they had four wonderful children (Katie, Tom, Karen and Kelli) and 9 grandkids (Josie, Payton, Kaleb, Tommy, Erin, Jase, Maddy, Olivia, Charlie). Each of Paul and Kathy’s children learned the importance of love, loyalty and hard work from his natural modeling in how he cared for others. If words could describe Paul, they'd be loyal, strong, and loving. He had a servant's heart, and his acts of kindness were the best model of Jesus’ love for others. Paul had such a gentle soul that animals instantly trusted him, he was even able to tame his backyard squirrels and was a dog spoiler.

Paul was always there to help and support those he loved, including his mother (Fran) and siblings (Ron, Barb, Mark and Bill). Their relationships showed the best example of what it means to be a family. He never shied away from hard work and was a perfectionist when it came to his craft of carpentry, car work, and being a father. Some of Paul’s favorite memories included his numerous fishing trips with his family and friends and restoring cars. He also enjoyed grilling and having garage parties with family and friends. During Paul’s life he owned around 50 cars. He purchased his first car, a 55 Chevy for $15 when he was 14 years old. After learning to navigate the internet in his retirement, Paul spent many hours searching for the perfect Camaro.

His calm demeanor and quiet strength will be missed, but always remembered. He was kind and brave, giving everything his all. May our memories of Paul be cherished in our hearts forever.

Paul is survived by his wife Kathy, children Katie (Eric) Henderson, Tom (Jillisa) Sawhill, Karen (John) Mongar and Kelli (Tyler) Luft. His grandchildren include Josie, Payton, Kaleb, Tommy, Erin, Jase, Maddy, Olivia and Charlie. He is also survived by siblings Barb (Jim) Widlund, Mark (Mary) Sawhill, and Bill (Cathy) Sawhill. Paul has several cousins, in-laws, nieces, nephews and friends that will dearly miss him. He is preceded in death by his parents Ronald and Frances Sawhill, in-laws Ed and Maggie Swim and brother Ron Sawhill. May the memory of his smile and kindness live on in us forever.