Paul Hamilton Jennings

Paul Hamilton Jennings 05/21/1926 - 04/28/2018 Paul Hamilton Jennings was born on May 21, 1926 to Charles and LaVera Jennings. Although he was born in Snowflake, Arizona, Paul's first recollections were of living in Whiteriver, Arizona. His family also lived in Shiprock, New Mexico and Pine Ridge, South Dakota. While in South Dakota, Paul's father took him to meet the sculptor Gutzon Borglum who was in the middle of a monumental project that became Mount Rushmore. When Paul was ten, his father was transferred to Lame Deer, Montana as superintendent of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation. Paul attended grade school on the reservation, but lived with older siblings in Provo while attending Brigham Young Junior High and Brigham Young High School. Paul enlisted in the Army during World War II and served in in the Philippines. By the end of the war, his family had moved to Mesa, Arizona. Paul lived with them and attended Arizona State College (which became Arizona State University) where he played on the varsity basketball squad and later graduated with distinction. On July 17, 1948, Paul Married Velma Hatch in the Mesa Arizona Temple. Paul became interested in computers as early as 1955 and was a pioneer in the field. He worked for GE, IBM and Honeywell and was on the team that successfully implemented the first computer generated payroll program in the state of Arizona. On two different occasions he was able to spend several months working on special assignment in Japan. Paul and Velma discovered they both enjoyed square dancing and joined the Mesa Checkmates. They met many wonderful friends and enjoyed traveling to dances around the state. In 1992, the LDS Church started a Family Records Extraction Program called FREP. Paul wrote a program to enhance this work and catch errors called Preaudit, which became in great demand. In 1994, he and Velma served an 18-month Church service mission to the Mesa Family History Center. Just before their mission, Velma was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Over a seventeen year period, she gradually declined and Paul was her loving and dedicated caregiver. She passed away on May 18, 2011. Seven years later, Paul died of an aneurysm on April 28, 2018. Paul was intelligent and resourceful. He was a good provider and wonderful father. He had a joke for every occasion. He was preceded in death by his wife, Velma, his parents Charles and LaVera Jennings, his brothers Jarvis, Forest and Charles Jr., and sisters Sue Carman, Loraine and Mary and his granddaughter, Claire. He is survived by his five children: Terry (Marianne) Jennings, Debbie (Robert) Stapley, Gordon (Melinda) Jennings, Paula (Ron) Knight, Pam (Andy) Linkner), 19 grandchildren, and 50 great grandchildren.