Obituary of Paul D. Pauline

November 30, 1948 - December 26, 2026

Paul D. Pauline.  Age 77 of Southgate.

Paul David Pauline, born November 30, 1948 in Wyandotte, Michigan. Paul grew up in Southgate with his parents Paul James and Margory Pauline.  He was the oldest sibling, followed in age by Diane, Pat, Bob and Mary Beth.  Paul was your average, all-American boy who packed his days with a variety of sports with the neighborhood kids.  He often found ways to include the younger kids in their games.  His real passion was building model rockets, with some being not so much a toy, but rather a mini missile.  He was a self-taught amateur chemist and made his own advanced fuel for his model rockets.

A few years after high school, Paul and Gail (Bentley) married and honeymooned in Niagara Falls.  They were blessed with two sons, David and Benjamin.  There was always a family dog or cat in the house.  One of his tenents was "Always be nice to your animals", which he lived by.  Paul worked to provide a comfortable, stable life for the family, but during their son's high school / college years, Gail and Paul divorced.

Paul later married Pamela Bathier, whom he loved throughout his golden years until his death.  Paul and Pam traveled quite a bit, seeing Norway, Amsterdam, England, Ireland, France, Prague, Austria and Turkey to name a few.  Paul loved spending time with his grandchildren Jamie, Rachel, Cody, Hayley, Noah and Hannah, and even his great grandchildren Jace and Laila.

After graduating from Southgate Schafer High School, he started a career with Detroit Edison in the boiler operations department.  Working the night shift, after completing rounds, he waxed his car and studied for his high pressure boiler operator state certifications.  He later received, at the age of 18, a high-pressure boiler operator license, the youngest ever to achieve this in Michigan.

The IBEW offered him a spot in the apprenticeship program, forcing him to make a tough decision.  He decided that the electrical trades offered a more promising future. Paul worked for several contractors, Smith Brothers, Grey Electric and Ferguson Electric, but most prominently with Motor City Electric.  During his career he earned a Master Electrician license which he used to help him transition from working with the tools to working in the office as a project manager.  Paul was a proud union electrician for over 40 years.

Paul gave back to the community frequently.  He was a Cub Scout leader, church lecturer, ran the union softball league, little league baseball coach, and after retirement, a Wyandotte school watchdog.  Paul wrestled in high school, well adept at working on cars, was known to gun hunt, then later, bow hunt, fished ponds, streams and rivers, and play a lot of tennis.  He was a keen investor, a chess player and dabbled in astronomy. 

Many people can attest to his interest in others.  If he knew something and you had an interest in it, he would teach you what he knew.  He wanted others around him to succeed and experience joy when they did.  If there is one thing Paul would want someone to know it would be "If you want to do something nice for someone, you better hurry up and do it…because you might just miss the chance".