In Memory

Paul Olin - Class Of 1975

Paul Olin



 
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06/30/09 11:30 PM #1    

Debbie Kane (Hill ) (1975)

Paul and I stayed in contact with one another from about 2002 or so until he took his life in June 2007. We ran across each other on the TCA alumni website and began exchanging e-mails.

I will always count Paul as a wonderful friend with a great sense of humor who could always make me laugh. He was a brilliant man with a beautiful heart, yet battled circumstances that most of us could never imagine. He blessed my life as a teenager with his phenomenol musical abilities and loyal friendship.
When my mom had a stroke our senior year of high school, it was Paul who rode his bike to the hospital to be by my side. I saw Paul last when I was about 20 years old, right before he moved to Germany as a member of the US Army. He was stationed in Germany for many years, and went onto marry a German national. He made his home there, and he was blessed with a daughter who is about 22 years old now.

Sadly, I was one of the last people Paul had contact with. I certainly never would have projected that as I pondered my future back in the 1970s. But life has strange turns and twists, and paths cross and the small world we live in becomes smaller. Paul had split with his wife many years before, but had recently suffered from a broken love affair and a broken heart. He was living alone in Germany and had become very despondent, living on disability. He was about to move back to the United States, even had purchased his airplane tickets to move here. He had found a place to live in Ft. Worth with some dear friends and would not have been far away from our home north of Dallas. I did not hear from him for several days prior to his suicide, and then I received a very sad e-mail from his daughter.

Paul, your friendship is missed greatly, but I find peace in knowing you knew our Lord. I know that you are alive and in the arms of Jesus. You have rest and peace and freedom....and most of all, life and restoration. God is so gracious in that He can take our brokeness and pain, and He can make us completely whole again.

07/02/09 06:10 AM #2    

Ron Perritt (1974)

Beautifully said, Debbie. Paul will always be remembered in our hearts until we meet again in the presence of our Lord.

08/15/10 11:28 AM #3    

Ronald Touchton (1975)

 I never realized how profoundly Paul Olin affected me until just recently when I first heard of his death. For the past 33 years, I have devoted myself extremely to the playing of the piano. I graduated with a degree in Piano Performance. Classical music is what I play at least three hours every day now for nearly 33 years. I do play pop music for parties but my heart is in the classics, Chopin, Beethoven, Schubert, etc. The first classical piece of music I ever heard performed was by Paul Olin at a Chapel meeting at TCA. It was Bach and his most famous Toccata in D minor. I was blown away by his mastery of this piece. I know this influenced me to want to pursue the classics as they are true genius masterpieces. I never even told one person I played the piano at Trinity but in 1977, I took my first one month trip to Europe which and played a couple classical pieces in Italy. The response I got was amazing to me and so many encouraged me to continue my studies in college which I immediately did. A few months later, my mentor and master advised me to change my major to Piano which I did. Throughout the years, I have taken three more month long trips to Europe and given concerts on each trip. I have been so happy I devoted my life to playing the piano and again Paul was my first major influence and I only wish I could have told him.


06/16/13 09:13 PM #4    

Ron Perritt (1974)

From:  Jack A Garrabrant, Jr.
Email:  thetwazzler@hotmail.com


I have been doing internet searches for Paul for 15 years. Each search ended with pay sites for background checks. I served with Paul in Panama. I met him in 1980. He had sent his double keyboard harpsichord to Panama. I was not a music major. One day, we removed the legs of the harpsichord and balanced it on top of my car to take it to my room in the barracks. I had a 3 man room, but was the only one assigned. Paul and I hung out a lot. I was amazed at all the things he was involved in. He scuba dived. Had a Ham Radio license and played the harpsichord extremely well. I only wish he would have found me before he took his life. My wife, a Panamanian, met him, and we talk about him often. My heart is heavy that I didn't try harder to find him.


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