Paul L. Oxley

Paul was born to Ellen M. (Peden) Oxley and Vernon D. Oxley of Iowa City, Iowa on August 2^nd, 1942.  He, along with his older siblings, Harold, George, and Ruth, lost their father too early in life in 1946 when Paul was 4.  Paul grew up in Iowa City and graduated from Iowa City High School in 1960.

Paul enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve and specialized as a radio operator.  Briefly activated during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Paul returned to reside in Iowa City in the early 1960’s.

Following his time in the service, Paul met the love of his life, Nancy J. Raun, and they were married in 1966.  Paul and Nancy moved to Milwaukee where Paul graduated with honors from the Milwaukee School of Engineering with a degree in Electrical Engineering in 1968.  Later, Paul graduated from a master’s level program offered through AT&T Bell Labs and Stevens Institute of Technology.

Paul and Nancy valued higher education and provided substantial support for their children and grandchildren to attend college. They are survived by their two children, Douglas Oxley and Susan (Oxley) Sheen, as well as three grandchildren, Ellinor Sheen, Cameron Sheen, and Griffen Sheen.  Paul was a loving father-in-law to Corey Sheen and Susan Kretschmar Oxley.  They are also survived by Paul’s sister, Ruth Pearson, and several nieces and nephews.  Paul and Nancy were cat people with their kitties registered through their cattery, The Trails.  They cared for Snowball, Tyler, Chaucer, and Kipper throughout their lives, and are survived by Kira and Simba.

Paul spent his 38-year professional career solely at AT&T.  He rose through the ranks and retired as District Manager.  At AT&T, he made several substantial contributions including improving the microwave radio telephony system and improving telephone switching systems.  He was deeply involved in the engineering, business, and legal aspects of AT&T’s divestiture in the 1980’s.  Paul was awarded for his contributions to radio engineering at AT&T and for his role in the recovery of the telephone systems following the tragedy of 9/11.

In retirement, Paul’s professional attention turned towards the stars.  He presented and published several papers on engineering systems to study the sun and other astronomic bodies and objects.  He served as Vice President of the Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers (SARA) and was one of the founders of the Radio Astronomy Software Defined Radio (RASDR) project.  He enjoyed giving his time and expertise in radio engineering to others.

Paul and Nancy traveled extensively in retirement to explore the world and visit with family and friends from the many places they lived.  Paul especially enjoyed travelling in his RV.  He also enjoyed the many cruises that Paul and Nancy took around the world.  Paul enjoyed cooking, and as part of a family tradition, he made his own wine which he called Paul’s Rosé.

A memorial service will be held at 3:00 pm on Saturday, April 16, 2022.  It will be held at Ingram Funeral Home at 210 Ingram Ave., Cumming, GA 30040 with a graveside service at Sawnee View Gardens following.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to one of Paul’s preferred charities: