TOPEKA, Kan. – Paul Allen Lines, 86, beloved husband and father, passed away on Saturday, July 10, 2021, at his home in Topeka, Kan. He was born on Sept. 24, 1934, in Malad, Idaho, the son of Paul Wesley and Ora “Louise” Estenson Lines.
Paul grew up as a child living in Idaho during WWII. He delivered newspapers to help support his family, and picked potatoes, along with his classmates, to support the war effort.
As a young man he met and married Gay Stillwagon in 1953, they later divorced. On Dec. 30, 1961, Paul married Verna Page, in Alliance, Neb., and together they raised seven children, moving to Carbondale, Kan., in 1968.
One of the most important things to Paul was providing for and raising his family. Paul worked as a manager at Katz Drug Store and Woolworth’s as a young man, and then worked for the Topeka Capital Journal for 23 years in display advertising, eventually becoming credit manager until his retirement in 1991.
Beginning in the fall of 1993, Paul and Verna became snowbirds, wintering in Bouse, Ariz., and spent the summer months hosting at campgrounds near Centennial, Wyo. Paul and his wife moved back to Topeka in 2015, to be closer to their family.
Paul attended the Tecumseh United Methodist Church, was a member of Kiwanis in Carbondale, and volunteered with the Salvation Army. His favorite pastimes were fishing, boating, camping, bowling, music, dancing, and going for a good cup of coffee with family and friends.
Paul was preceded in death by his parents, Paul and Louise; his son, John, in March 2010; sister, Nellie Louise Vecchio; brother and sister-in-law, Dale and Rose Lines; and two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Paul is survived by his wife, Verna; six children, including daughters, Victoria and Ken Lillehaug, of Highmore, S.D., Sharlene and Mort Hight, Lecompton, Kan., Karen and John Moore, Mendocino, Calif., Debbie Lines and Bill Schoonover, Valley Falls, Kan., and Yvonne and Robert Berry, Topeka, and son, Montgomery and Melodee Lines, Olivet, Kan.; daughter-in-law, Angie Wilkinson, Tahlequah, Okla.; brother-in-law, Don Vecchio, Arvada, Colorado; and 24 grandchildren, 50 great-grandchildren, and eight great-great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 24, at Tecumseh United Methodist Church, 334 SE Tecumseh Rd., Tecumseh, Kan. The family will receive friends 10 a.m. until service time at the church. Burial will be in Lyndon Cemetery, Lyndon, Kan.
Memorial contributions can be made to Tecumseh United Methodist Church or the Topeka Rescue Mission, sent in care of Feltner Funeral Home, 818 Topeka Ave., Lyndon, KS 66451. Condolences can be left at feltnerfuneralhome.com.
