Grafton Lee Pauls Jr. Obituary (1936 - 2022)

Grafton Lee Pauls Jr., age 86, of Dayville passed away on November 23rd, 2022 at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend, Oregon. A visitation will take place on Friday, December 2nd from 4:00 until 6:00 pm at Driskill Memorial Chapel in John Day. A graveside service will be held on Saturday, December 3rd at 1:00 PM at the Dayville Cemetery. Pastor Skip Inscore will officiate and the Navy will perform Military Honors accompanied by the American Legion Post 106. A reception will follow at the Dayville Community Church. Grafton was born September 3rd, 1936 in Long Beach, California to Grafton Lee Pauls Sr. and Charlotte Elizabeth (Kilstrom) Pauls. He served in the US Navy on a Destroyer in the 1950's and continued going to sea with the Navy as a civilian, carrying troops to many trouble spots. From 1957 to 1966, he served in the Korean, Vietnam, Congo and the Indonesian/Malayan conflicts. He loved to travel, visiting 70 countries, Antarctica and many African nations. He travelled by rail across Siberia and Europe. He also visited every state in the United States and every province in Canada. On June 6, 1967, he married LaVonne Junker, and began ranching in Washington State. He was a member of the National Cattlemen's Assoc., Councilman of the Washington Cattlemen's Assoc., President of Lewis County Cattlemen's Assoc., a member of the National Woolgrowers Assoc., First Vice-President of the Washington Woolgrowers Assoc., President of S.W. Washington Sheep Producers Assoc., Vice Chairman of the Washington State Animal Damage Control Board, (Aphis). He was also a member of the Chehalis River Watershed Council, the Washington Cattlemen's Assoc. Representative for Ad Hoc Committee on Endangered, Sensitive and Threatened Species listing and delisting, the Tin Can Sailors Veterans Assoc., the USS Nicholas DD 449 Veterans Assoc., and a council member of the St. Paul Lutheran Church in Winlock, Washington. He came to Dayville, Oregon in June of 1993. He built a house near Dayville and furnished it with his own hands. Grafton is survived by his greatest love, his wife LaVonne and their 2 children, Betsy Walter and Brent Pauls. Memorial contributions may be made to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center through Driskill Memorial Chapel, 241 S. Canyon Blvd., John Day, Oregon 97845.