Paul Francis Delahunty

Paul Francis Delahunty quietly passed away on June 15th 2016. He was born to Edward and Jean Delahunty of New York City on November 15, 1930. After graduating from high school he attended the New York State Maritime College, he graduated with a BS in Engineering. Following graduation, Paul sailed briefly with Moore-McCormack Lines with trips to South America and to Korea prior to entering the Navy in January 1953. He served for two years as the Engineering Officer of the PC 850 out of New London, CT, working with the Underwater Sound Lab. After his naval service in 1955, he joined Caltex Petroleum. He was assigned to the Philippines that started a thirty-two year career in South East Asia with Caltex, as an Operations Manager. He worked in such countries as Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines, Okinawa, Singapore and Hong Kong. He met his wife Diane in Okinawa, Japan where they had a short courtship and married in September of 1957. He is survived by his wife Diane, and his four children and their families; Ed and his wife Stacy and two step children Zach and Lauren; Paul and his wife Jo Anne and their two children Nick and Erin from; Lori and Sean and his wife Carole and their three children Cassidy, Jack and Joey. He is also leaving behind his sisters Sheila Dunn and Kate Spear, in addition to many sister-in laws, brother in laws, nieces, nephews, and friends that will surely miss him. Each country they moved too, they became part of the community, making lifelong friends. He contributed by coaching his sons football or baseball teams, bowling at the American Club, playing golf , umpiring games or speaking to companies about the importance in sponsoring sports teams to create and build upon the ex-patriot community. On St Patrick’s Day he was already the center of attention and requests from friends would flow to have him sing Danny Boy, Irish Eyes, Pattie Maginty Goat, or any Irish Ballad. He was blessed with a beautiful Irish tenor voice. After 32 years over in Southeast Asia, Paul and his family returned to the US and settled in Dallas. In 1989 he decided to start his second leg of his life and retire from Caltex Petroleum. Although retiring from Caltex didn’t mean he was sitting still. He was offered a consulting job in the Middle East which he took as he saw it as another adventure. So he and Diane packed up and moved to Bahrain for one year that turned into six. Upon returning to Dallas Texas in 1995 to enjoy his retirement, Paul joined Diane’s travel business which she had been founded a few years earlier. He continued to play golf and meet with his lunch buddies on Wednesday to discuss world issues. When opportunity arose Paul and Diane would continue to travel visiting friends and family across the US or traveled with them through Europe. In 2010, Paul lost his right leg below the knee due to diabetes, he never let that stop him as he was determined to maintain his independence. He was determined to walk with a prosthetic leg and a cane and not ride a scooter unless he was at Home Depot, Lowes or Choctaw Casino. Paul was a very supportive and encouraging father. He let his children make their own decisions, but always made sure to put in his two cents based on his years of experience. He always let them take their own paths but never failed to pick them up if they stumbled. Wherever Paul lived he believed in making friends, keeping them for life. He treated friends like family and always had an open door and an open heart. He welcomed all into his home during the holidays, whether they were service people far from home, a friend of a friend passing through, or a new family in town needing direction while beginning a new life overseas. A few years back he joined Diane at a memoir writing class, although he was better at telling stories than writing them down. He always planned on recording his life story and a Christmas gift one year of dictation software seemed to be the solution. To everyone’s amusement, his New York accent perplexed the program and it could never get it just right. Instead, he began sharing his beautiful Irish Tenor with the memoir class, signing two Irish songs at the beginning of each class. He was never short of stories always encouraging young people including his grandkids to attend a military academy for an excellent education and a life opportunity. He will be greatly missed but his family takes comfort knowing the choir in heaven has a new tenor. We know he is belting out his Irish songs while watching over all his family and friends. MAY HE REST IN PEACE Memorial Service will be held on Saturday July 16th at 11:00 AM at the Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Plano, 5100 West Plano Parkway, Plano, Texas 75093. Ashes will be interred at the Dallas-Ft Worth National Cemetery in a private family service at a date yet to be determined. There will be refreshments provided after the service in the hall.In lieu of flowers we are asking for contributions in Paul’s name to the American Cancer Society in hopes that they can develop a test that would detect pancreatic cancer in the early stages.