David Coy
Laid-back. Excellence. Good natured. A friend. Funny. Committed. These are words that describe the Paul Ozmun I knew.
He always made me feel comfortable, lightened things up when I felt stressed or was overly intense. He had a gift to sense where people were at their inner core and connect with them, make them feel welcome, accepted and that everything was okay.
I feel lucky to have been included briefly in the basketball friendship fraternity of Conrad Hafen, Rick Reese and Paul Ozmun, although I was never a roundballer. Thanks guys.
After high school Paul and I worked together briedly during the summer as dock hands (along with classmate Randy Jones) loading and unloading pallets of 50 and 100 pound bags of dry goods between boxcars and warehouse out at NDS / NDC? - National Distribution Center / Systems in Clearfield.
I remember the first day he arrived. I was sweating in the oven-baked heat when I saw his silhouette in the white sunlight as he stepped into blackness of the boxcar as stacked bags on wooden pallets. I recognized him immediately. After a happy greeting we went back to work, stacking sacks of dried milk or potatoes or something. Soon, with a smile and his quiet laugh, he suggested that we sing, as we worked. We did. I don't now recall for certain what we sang but I believe some of them were church hymns like, "Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel, Push Along, Do Your Duty With a Heart Full of Song, We All Have Work, Let No One Shirk, Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel".
That kind of represents Paul to Me. Good attitude. Hard work. Happiness. Song. Making challenges bearable. Making things achievable.
Thank you Paul for lightening the burdens of my life and making hard things not only bearable but fun. You are missed my friend.
~ David Coy from Roy