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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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Checks can be sent to:
101 Colgan Ave # 29
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
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O.D.
Trad climber
LA LA Land
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May your soul ascend to the greatest heights,
May those who mourn be comforted, and,
May we only celebrate joyous occasions together.
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Johnny K.
climber
Southern California
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Paul ,Condolences to Ruth,Pauls family and all the amazing friends Paul had all over the world.
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yllw2lip
Social climber
Orange, CA
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Ruth's paypal account is under yogaforstrength@yahoo.com if you want to send money that way too. Thanks Jan for posting the mailing address.
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blackbird
Trad climber
the flat water trails...
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SOOOOO beyond sorry to hear this news, yet at the same time I know that there is peace within the pain and grief..
My sincere, heartfelt condolences to all of Paul's friends and family. You are in my heart and my prayers...
Samantha
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rcknsno
climber
California
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Aug 10, 2011 - 12:23am PT
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RIP Paul. You have been an inspiration to so many of us - thank you for sharing.
My condolences to his family and friends.
Karin
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stevep
Boulder climber
Salt Lake, UT
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Aug 10, 2011 - 12:30am PT
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RIP Paul.
As a survivor of a relatively recent bout of cancer, I'm doubly thankful for what you posted here.
Good luck on any further adventures.
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SCseagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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Aug 10, 2011 - 04:37pm PT
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Bump...sitting here with a cuppa tea...missing Paul's posts.
Susan
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Gym Birdwall
Gym climber
The
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Aug 10, 2011 - 06:23pm PT
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In celebration of Paul Humphrey's life.
We lost Paul to cancer July 29, 2011.
Paul was an amazing man. An awesome climber and a patient teacher.
He would rush to set up ropes so everyone could climb.
He was my best friend, my climbing partner, my love, my life.
Please bring your own stories of Paul to this thread
Rejoice, post pictures, smile and tell campfire stories online.
His last wish was to climb. On and on and on.
"Why not keep climbing with my friends," he said. "why not?"
Put a bit of ashes into chalk and off I go...climbing new routes,
jamming into cracks, holding onto a rock.
Make it so! I have Metolius chalk socks awaiting.
That's right...Paul's Balls.(Paul's great sense of humor to the end)
Good Times, good times.
Contact me if you would like onetake Paul climbing with you
Climb on
Love you Babe,
Ruth
aka Gym Birdwall
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Big Daddy B.C.
Trad climber
Palo Alto, Ca.
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Aug 18, 2011 - 01:07am PT
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Paul will always be in my soul with his pleasure of climbing. He is an inspiration to all . This sucks!
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urasenke13
climber
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Aug 20, 2011 - 12:07am PT
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Disaster Master's Last Moments
I wrote this the morning after Paul passed.
Writing is ultimately an act of selfishness. Who am I to presume that I have anything to to say? What audacity to believe that it could possibly have meaning to another.... And yet, the words are all I have, insufficient as they are.
Last night, at 8:15 pm, a great and gentle soul departed our world. Paul David Humphrey, after several years of pain, suffering, hope given and taken, chose to leave his mortal body for what lies beyond. I used the word choice not merely to soften the blow. I really do believe it was a choice. I spoke with him two days prior. His laugh, though weakened, was still as vibrant. His mind, though bleary, was just as sharp and witty. His spirit, though it had taken a beating, still held all its potency. Those who spent his final days with him will testify: his body gave out, but he never gave up. He never surrendered. He lived far longer than any doctor thought possible. He endured far more pain than any pharmacist believed was tolerable. And even in the end, there was strength in him. Just that morning he stood on his own and worked his way to the restroom for his morning ablutions. In my frantic scramble to get there to be with him, I always believed that I would get to speak with him one last time, that I would get to hug him, tell him how much I have missed him, how much I love him.
When I arrived, I found him unconscious, laboring for breath. I knew that breath. I had seen it in my father before he died. And yet, I still held to hope that he would have one more lucid moment. So I sat next to him and chatted with Ruth, his wife, and David, his father, waiting. I held Paul's hand and stroked that lovely head of thick hair. I held his head up while Ruth administered the staggering dosages of pain killers. Nobody believed that a person could take that much morphine and not go into a coma. But the disbelievers didn't know Paul. The will to endure and the strength to see it through weren't just facets of his character, they were also the tools that shaped him. He chose to endure it all as long as he did, and nobody knows why.
As with most things, the moment approached without notice. Ruth was on the phone with the hospice nurse talking about the foam in his mouth, not sure if removing it would mean that his body would be denied the pain killers it needed and yet concerned that he might choke on it. I was rubbing his head. Sometime during the administering of his medicine, one of his eyes had opened, and his pupil was moving back and forth. I couldn't tell if it was an autonomic response or deliberate, but I watched that unblinking eye, looking into him as one looks into a bottomless pool. I held his hand. He stirred ever so slightly. His breathing calmed. He swallowed ever so slightly. He turned his head, and those brilliant eyes took in my gaze. I thought he was coming to consciousness. I smiled at him, inches from his face, gazing.
“Hey Buddy. I made it,” I said. His eyes moved back and forth. His labored breathing calmed, and he looked on at me.
“I sure have missed you,” I said. I didn't know what else to say. It was simple truth. We hadn't seen each other in years. He looked at me. Then with one last breath, and one last look, his body collapsed in on itself, and his life winked. No outwardly visible thing happened. I was looking into his eyes at something, and then it simply was gone. Even then, looking so deeply into his eyes, I could see his spirit, strong as ever, vital as ever. And just before he let go, that spirit exploded into the Universe, a star gone Super Nova, the light of which will radiate forth for years and decades to come.
Paul David Humphrey. You are a force in the Universe. You always have been. You always will be. It is our duty, our task, our labor of love to unravel what it all meant. As for me, I know why you endured so much for so long, but it would be selfishness in me to exclaim it. All I can say is thank you. Thank you for everything, the tenderness of our friendship, the adventures we have had, the trials of life we have endured together, the laughter, the triumphs, the stumbles, the wisdoms we have gleaned. You live on in me as a difference. My life would not be where it is had we not shared our path together for a time. I love you. I miss you. But most of all, you will live on in me as that Force.
Goodbye my friend,
Till we meet again,
outside of time.
Nolan
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John Butler
Social climber
SLC, Utah
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Aug 20, 2011 - 12:50am PT
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SCseagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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Aug 20, 2011 - 01:09am PT
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yep. Susan
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Aug 20, 2011 - 01:12am PT
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Thank you for standing vigil with Paul as he died. It's one of the most important things we do as humans.
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Captain...or Skully
climber
or some such
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Aug 20, 2011 - 01:18am PT
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Aye. Stand with those that lead the way.
Be with them. For them & you, too. For us all.
I miss Paul & I never even met him. Glad that I got to be touched, even remotely, by his Life.
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Gym Birdwall
Gym climber
The
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Aug 20, 2011 - 10:18am PT
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Thank you Nolan
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Iclimb5.1
climber
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Aug 21, 2011 - 12:50pm PT
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Beautiful post, Nolan. Thank you.
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yllw2lip
Social climber
Orange, CA
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Aug 26, 2011 - 08:08pm PT
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Yes, that was a beautiful post Nolan. Thank you. I wish I could have been there in those final moments, but it wasn't meant to be. I am glad he had you and Ruth there in those final moments.
Anna
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okaythatsme
climber
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Aug 31, 2011 - 05:10pm PT
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Thank you for sharing your last time with Paul. He is loved and missed.
He was connected to most beautiful and amazing friends.
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