Richard Allen Paulson, age 83, of Carrington, ND, died on Thursday, February 2, 2023 at CHI St. Alexius Hospital, Carrington, ND.

Richard was born in Jamestown, ND, to Cliff and Millie Paulson of Carrington, ND, on October 15, 1939 and he is survived by his three children, Leslie Paulson (Blaine Hulbert), Carrington, ND, Robert Paulson, Carrington, ND, and David Paulson, Oceanside, CA; his grandchildren, Jeffrey, Valerie, Garrett, Jacob and Lillian; and two great-grandchildren, Jasmine and Delilah.

Richard, AKA Dick, was a kind and gentle man with an affinity for animals, especially dogs. His late wife, Gail, was legally blind and required the use of a guide dog. Although that was not the spark that ignited his love of dogs, it was definitely the fuel that drove him to pour countless hours into the foundation, even after Gail passed. In lieu of flowers, it was Richard’s wish that memorials be made to “Guide Dogs for the Blind” in Richard and Gail’s name.

Dick served in the Navy for 4 years and then took that knowledge and turned it into a successful career as a Radar Technician. At 40, he dropped everything, took a 75% pay cut and moved his family out of the city and into the Santa Barbara Mountains to become a Camp Ranger at Cachuma Church Camp, an outdoor school that hosted 150-300 people a week. Here is where he truly flourished and was able to become a mentor to so many; kids and adults alike took to him and his guiding ways. His knowledge was vast, because he was never afraid of failure and never shied away from a new challenge. He spent many evenings with his nose in books and manuals. This is especially poignant because, unknown to us, he had a severe case of dyslexia.  He was able to overcome this by filling the margins with illegible notes and highlighted nearly every paragraph. Humor and pranks were the cornerstone of his character and he loved to make people smile and tell jokes that he would laugh at insatiably.  He loved fire crackers and making things go BOOM. He made a canon that fired golf balls and a log splitter from a straight 6 truck motor.  He filled his neighbor’s car with balloons and made lunches for his kids that included cat treats and sugar packets, but always added a $5 bill so they didn’t go hungry. Pranks were always front of mind.

Another passion of his was large scale cooking, the camp got him started, but he blossomed that into a full-fledged catering business, Little Bigs BBQ and Backhoe Services. Dick was always ready to help, it did not matter if he knew you or not, because he genuinely loved to be a servant to the people.

Dick was always groomed and well dressed, nothing fancy, but a button up shirt was his staple. With a cup of black coffee “no fu-fu juice”, and some sort of candy in his truck you would find him driving around smiling and waving at strangers.

I can say with confidence his proudest moment is when he became a great-grandfather.  When those two girls, Jasmine and Delilah, came into his life his focus changed and he was the happiest I’d ever seen him.

Dick will be remembered as a Father, a friend and most importantly a mentor to all who met him.  He got great pleasure sharing his knowledge and because of his own struggles he was able to allow others to learn in their own way.

He is preceded in death by his wife, Gail (Engebretson) Paulson; parents, Clifford and Mildred Paulson; brother, Norman Paulson; and sister, Barbara DuBois

 

The family will be celebrating his life by having a Good Old Fashion Richard Paulson BBQ on Saturday, August 12, 2023, at his house, 80 2nd Avenue North at 1:00PM. All are welcome to join in this celebration.

Richard’s Burial will take place on Friday, August 11, 2023 at 1:00PM at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Mandan, ND.