Paul Vernon Raab

Paul Vernon Raab was born March 14, 1931 and passed away peacefully on November 22, 2025 at home surrounded by his family, at the age of 94. Paul was born to Paul Vernon Raab and Margaret Raab. Paul is preceded in death by his wife of 69 years Beverly, his parents, brother Tom, sister Jane, sister-in-law Bert and brother-in-laws Don, Jack (John), Jim, and Jack.

Paul V. Raab is the treasured father to Paul Jr. (Pamela) Raab, Mark (Roberto) Raab, Dale (Paula) Raab, Lisa (Christopher) Kujawa, and Steven Raab. His grandchildren Erik (Amanda), Annie (Justin), Alexander (Hannah), Bryan (Chelsea), Calvin (Ashley), Jacob (Allison), Sarah, Zachary (Erika) and Gabrielle were Paul’s pride and joy. Paul’s great grandchildren, Payton, Elias, and Nuri, brought excitement and smiles with pictures and visits from Payton. Paul is also survived by his sisters Linda Cottrell and Susan Collins along with many nieces, nephews, sister-in-law Joan Olsen, and friends.  Paul’s lifelong friend John (Armando) Merola remained in contact throughout Paul’s life.

Paul graduated in 1949 from Freehold High School. Paul was involved in football, basketball, and baseball, similar to his father, who died prior to Paul’s birth. Paul loved the beach, outdoors, camping, crossword puzzles, bowling, playing tennis, and swimming in the ocean at Manasquan Beach. Paul spent a lot of time at his grandparent’s chicken farm in Freehold, New Jersey.  He talked about taking care of the chickens, collecting eggs daily, picking raspberries and strawberries and selling them with his brother Tom at the end of the farm’s driveway. Paul attended the University of Texas after graduating high school.

In the summer of 1950, Paul returned to New Jersey and worked at his Uncle Walter’s boardwalk soda fountain, at Bradley Beach, for the summer. Paul lived down at the shore with his Uncle Walter and Aunt Charlotte for the summer. He talked about swimming in the ocean, after his 11:00 PM shift, and never thinking about sharks.

Paul eventually, after three semesters, quit college and joined the United States Navy in 1951. Paul completed his Bachelor’s degree while in the U.S. Navy. While attending Electronics Technician School at Great Lakes Naval Training Center, Paul became good friends with a classmate, Donald Olsen. Don’s hometown was Milwaukee, Wisconsin and during liberty Paul and Don would make visits to Milwaukee, (50 miles of hitchhiking), where Paul met Don’s sister Beverly. Paul and Beverly fell in love and married on November 1, 1952 after knowing each other for 6 months.

Paul was an incredible story teller and was called “father nature” by his children. He spoke often about his childhood and had many fond memories of his family. Paul was also proud of his service in the U.S. Navy. He served during the Korean War and sailed on the destroyer U.S.S. Chester T. Obrien 421. Paul spoke often about his travels to Cuba, Denmark, and other Caribbean shores while in the Navy. He shared that he found out about his first son, Paul Jr’s birth while in the middle of the Atlantic ocean.

After serving in the Navy, Paul attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison to earn a Master’s degree in engineering. While in Madison, Beverly and Paul lived in a trailer court with other students. Mark and Dale were born in Madison. Eventually Paul and Beverly moved to Milwaukee and Paul began working as an electrical engineer at Allen Bradley. Years later, Lisa and Steve were born and the family of seven lived in a lower duplex for many years, along with Fluffy the cat and many of her offspring. The neighborhood, on 52nd Street, was full of children so Paul and Beverly’s children made lifelong friends and amazing memories. Paul worked at Allen Bradley until he retired at the age of 69 but did some ad hoc work for them until he was 71.

Family was the most important aspect of Paul and Beverly’s existence. Beverly and Paul took their children and grandchildren on many vacations to Manasquan Beach, Outer Banks, and a Disney Cruise to name a few. The entire family would be together and Beverly and Paul were adamant that the family do the work to stay connected.

After Beverly died in December 2021, Paul missed her immensely. He would occupy his time by completing crossword puzzles in the New York Times, reading the newspaper, keeping current in political and world news while also writing his life story on the computer. At this point, no one has read any of his writings but Paul spent almost four years documenting his life with Beverly, so it is sure to be full of fascinating stories and memories of their lives which we can’t wait to read.

Paul’s passing leaves a hole in our hearts and his presence is missed dearly. He left a legacy that few have been able to achieve.

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