Paul Pabst

COLUMBIA: Paul Pabst, 90, died on February 24, 2013. He was born in Springfield, Illinois, the youngest child of August and Bertha Pabst. Paul developed a strong interest in music as a youth and became a talented bassoonist, earning admission to the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY in 1940. Paul's musical training was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II. He served his country honorably in the United States Navy during that conflict. After his discharge from the Navy in 1946, Paul earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois at Champagne-Urbana, where he also did graduate work in economics. In September, 1947, he married his sweetheart and best friend, Ann Laufer of Louisville, KY. In 1962, Paul and Ann moved with their four children to Columbia, SC, where Paul worked for many years as the office manager for the J.B. White Department Store at Richland Mall. Paul was a devoted husband and father. He was a man of strong character who demonstrated the best virtues of his generation. He possessed a lively sense of humor, an unceasing curiosity about the world, and a great love of learning. Paul enjoyed opera, American history, good books, and spirited conversation. He had a soft spot in his heart for each of the pets who came within his charge, especially those who were his companions in his later years. As time went on, even in the last days of his life, Paul continued to show the finest qualities of his nature, including courage, acceptance, and determination to put the welfare and interests of his family above his own. "He was a man as men should be." Paul's wife, Ann, preceded him in death. Surviving are his daughters, Anna Pabst Matthews of Batesburg, SC, Elizabeth (Betsy) Pabst Manley and husband Tom of Wake Forest, NC, and Carol Pabst Beard and husband Tom of Columbia, SC; his son, Paul Robert Pabst of Columbia, SC; four grandchildren, Tomie Rex Matthews and wife Tammy of Angier, NC, Thomas Maxwell Manley of Bethesda, MD, Jack Evans Manley of New York, NY, and Noah Robert Pabst of Columbia, SC; one great-granddaughter, Jodi Madalyn Matthews of Angier, NC; and numerous nieces and nephews, spanning several generations. All were dear to him.