Birth date: May 25, 1951 Death date: Mar 29, 2013
Professor, coach, mentor, adviser, colleague, practical joker, example, inspiration, friend… so many things to so many people. Thank you, Paul, for being all of these to me. Thank you to all the Gaskes for letting him.
Paul was a man that all should strive to be in their lives. He was modest, loving, smart, fun and truly selfless. He is an inspiration to many people he has helped in their personal and professional lives. I am honored to have been able to know him.
There have been many occasions when I was blessed enough to be in the presence of Paul and have a smile on my face, that was put there by him. The memory of Paul, that I have EMBLAZONED on my brain, happened during an instance where he wasn't very happy with me. You see, Paul and Diane allowed me to move in with them, in 1993, when my mom decided to move across the country. I was working at the Union Tribune, driving trucks during the graveyard shift and attending Southwestern College while playing baseball. Well… After my shifts I would get home between 3 and 4:30am. On this particular night/slash morning, I needed to wash some things for school and baseball. So, I put my clothes in the washer, not thinking that Paul or Diane would be able to hear anything that was going on in the washroom. I then went into the family room and turned on the TV so that I could wind down from work. When… After about 3 minutes of watching TV… From out of nowhere, comes Paul flying around the corner into the family room! Okay… This is the part that puts a smile on my face, everytime I think about it… Aside from the fact that Paul was LIVID because I had woken him up… Here he was, standing in front of me; hair all messed up, glasses crookedly perched upon his nose and in NOTHING but a pair of "tighty whities"! Kind of a scary picture, if you ask me! Ha, ha, ha… He and I have both told the story many times before, so I'm not thinking he would mind me telling it, one more time. In all seriousness… Paul welcomed me into his home and into his family. And, for that, I will be forever grateful. Much love and many prayers go out to the family. You all are in my heart.
I played golf with Paul literally many hundreds of times, with the last time being in late Dec. 2012. Yes, he was often uproariously funny. But especially as we grew older, I appreciated what I am sure made him great as a counselor: Guys do not discuss their personal issues that easily. When we did, this process repeated itself over and over. As I talked about whatever it was bothering me, I would soon get a sense he knew where I needed to head, though he did not say it. Then I would find myself thinking about the path, however difficult, to get there. Then he would somehow signal that, "You know, you will like the result, when you get there." And by the time we had played a few more holes, I would feel like the path would not be so difficult after all. On his part, the input was all indirect, all oblique. But it was amazingly effective. It made you think you thought of the solution yourself. I will dearly miss the uproarious humor, the gentle counseling, the sincere friendship and so much more.
Paul was my brother, John's, good friend, starting in high school. I will always remember Paul as a funny, kind, warm and generous presence. Stories about him are woven into my family's history. He will be missed – he was a spark of light.
Paul was such a wonderful man. He loved his wife and family so very much. He was extremely proud to be a grandfather, and loved sharing about them to others. I will always remember his warm, friendly smile and fun conversations whenever I went to visit at the Gaske home. He was an inspiration, and Paul will be greatly missed by all who knew him.
Dear Paul,I wish when I saw you a couple of weeks ago I had thought to thank you for the 3 gifts you have given me. I'm sure you know which 3 gifts I'm talking about because you gave similar gifts to most of your students:The first …was the gift of self-confidence. Real self-confidence. Because of you, I am confident about my ability to communicate, about my ability to understand the pros and cons of an issue, and the intelligence you knew I had, but didn't see myself until you made me compete with all the smart kids in Com & Politics.The second was the gift of friendship, not just yours, but all the friends I made while at SDSU, and who are still friends of mine today. These aren't just casual friends, but life-long cherished friends, who like you, are irreplaceable.And, the third gift was all the warm memories that fill my heart. Most of us who experienced that time with you on the forensic team didn't know that those were magical days, but they were. For me, they were some of the happiest times of my life. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for sharing part of your journey here with me. I'm pretty sure you changed my life for good. Love, Deb
It's been awhile since I have had the pleasure of sharing company with any member of the Gaske family, but I still consider you all friends of mine and I was saddened to hear of Paul's passing nonetheless. My heart goes out to all of you.
Where to start ….there were so many as you well know Diane.Many stand out but one does in particular….he was driving home from golfing and I think we were meeting at your house to go somewhere…well Paul was late because he got lost going home from the golf course, so my first reaction was….wait a minute, how long have you been living here? LOL so Pablo!!!! Now should we go to NY or CT stories? hahahaha
I did not know him well but what I do know is he was an inspiration to his family. Something we all strive to be. I know he will be missed.
