Paul Brian Hitchen

Paul Brian Hitchen, 57, of Tacoma, WA, passed away March 15, 2019. He was born in Portland, OR on March 22nd, 1961. He graduated from Beaverton High School and immediately joined the Army, and had the opportunity to serve in Germany and in the States. Upon completion of his active duty, he enrolled in the University of Oregon (go Ducks) education program with a focus in health and physical education. While completing his education he was a drill sergeant in the Army Reserve. He graduated in 1988 and began his teaching career that spanned almost 30 years. He loved coaching wrestling and football, and was an awesome P.E. teacher. He began in University Place, WA and then moved to St. Helens, OR followed by joining Lochburn Middle School in Lakewood, WA where he met his wife Jani. He loved the outdoors and anything that had to do with water. He owned many boats over the course of his lifetime and shared his passion and joy of the water with all who were interested and even those that weren’t. He really enjoyed projects and would find different ways to fix things, even things that didn’t need to be fixed. He is survived by his wife of 12 years, Jani Hitchen, and his siblings Shelley Ball, Debi Stritzke, Linda Hughes, Dean Hitchen and Nancy Tadic. He will be greatly missed by his friends and family, but would hope that they all continue to laugh and enjoy life.