More detail on this person: Paul Thomas Horish was born to Peter Horish and Eva Marie Azura on March 1, 1946, in Ellensburg, Washington. He passed away April 14, 2023, peacefully in his sleep, not screaming and kicking like his passengers. He grew up in Cle Elum and was a Cub Scout & Boy Scout. Paul mowed lawns, shoveled snow, and had a paper route for 2 years. He spent summers at the family cabin his dad built at Salmon La Sac. It is possible to live without electricity! He panned for gold, explored gold & silver mines, and generally ran wild - he participated in numerous snipe hunts. River raiding came later. Paul bought his first rifle at age 12, shot his first deer at age 13. He worked at local gas stations and sawmills, bought his first car at the age of 16, which cost $10.00. It was a '53 Ford. In 1956 he spent summers with Dad at a gold mining camp in the Vanepps area , Paul was the gofer. He graduated high school (barely) in 1964 and entered the U.S. Army in December of 1965. Paul graduated Helicopter Flight School Class 66/19/21 and was sent to Vietnam in February of 1967. He flew with A Company 229th AHB 1st Cav. Div. his missions included: Lots of combat assaults, resupply, medivacs, night flights (scary). Paul was shot up, shot down and shot at. Fellow pilots called him "magnet ass". He transferred to Fulda Germany 14th ACR and flew the east-west German border where he got to see communism up close; barb wire, ditches, land mines exploding from the weight of the snow. Paul survived the Czech uprising of 1968 and was a member of the rifle/pistol teams. He was sent back to Vietnam 358 AVN det. where he encountered more of the above. Paul was discharged in November of 1968 and employed by the Navy in Keyport, WA. He joined the National Guard and flew out of Fort Lewis, WA. He became fed up with the Government crap, so he quit and moved to New Orleans, LA. There he flew to offshore oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. In 1977 he was hired by Arabian Helicopters (ARAMCO) in Saudi Arabia and got to see the 17th century mingle with Mercedes Benz. Paul flew various aircrafts from B-17 to Concords. He traveled to some 69 countries and finally hung-up guns and returned to Cle Elum, WA and married Linda Lonzo in 1985. Paul built a house, liked playing on old cars & street rods. He enjoyed bar games, shuffleboard, pool, darts, etc. He hated alcohol and drank it to get rid of it. Those temporarily left behind are his wife Linda, older brother Pete (Lynn), nephew Peter (Vita), brother in law Lloyd, and a few dogs; Cali, Heston and Arlo. P.S. He never learned to tie a necktie and never knowingly used algebra. A Celebration of life for Paul will be held at a later date.
This information was last updated 04/25/2023
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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024
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