Paul Nystrom was born June 9, 1956 and died on June 16, 2021, in his home in Trinidad. Paul’s physical body was taken care of by Ayers’ Crematorium. There will be no funeral services as per his request as he felt that the spiritual body has already passed on from the physical body, so this obituary will serve as a record of our memory of our family member. Please contact the family regarding any future memorials that may or may not be planned in the future.

Paul was an amazing and resilient person. He had childhood leukemia as a teenager and still lived to be over 60, which was something not so many with this disease were able to achieve. After high school, he went on to work in construction, taking care of horses on a ranch, working for the government making tiles for the space shuttles, and working as a janitor at a mall. He eventually got on permanent disability for a number of reasons.

He suffered from depression and anxiety and extreme hearing loss. Any time the family would contact him, whether on the phone or right next to him, we would have to ask if he had his hearing aids in. He also read lips quite well. This whole mask thing through COVID was hard on him as everyone was masked and he couldn’t read their lips to see what they were saying. And when mom was alive, we could all be blessed to hear, “God damn it, Paul! Put your hearing aids in!” Hopefully, now he doesn’t need them!

Paul liked to read, especially comic books and sci-fi. He also liked to take long walks on the beach or long walks through the woods either with his or mom’s dogs, or with friends. He always shared whatever he had with others as he felt that if he shared with others, they would eventually share with him.

Paul liked to go to mom’s place in Willow Creek and help out. Mom and Lefty (her last husband) had a large piece of property that required more and more care from others the older mom and Lefty got. Paul would frequently take up the slack. After his daily work, he would hit the river and spend hours reading on the bank. Mom and Paul called Willow Creek God’s country, as they both loved the land and the beauty of the river.

He lived out the last 15 years of his life in Trinidad, next to the ocean where he felt solace. He took long walks with friends at sunset and collected many rocks, shells, and sea glass. We also found out many of the tall tales that Paul told over the years. For example, did you know that Don was older than Paul? Yeah! Neither did we! (It’s not true!!)

Paul’s relationship with his son, Casey, was strained from Casey’s younger years on. But his relationship with his nieces and nephews was always vivid. He spoke to many of his friends about them all, including his son, and they could feel the love that he felt for all of them. He never stopped thinking about them and was grateful to have such love reciprocated.

He is preceded in death by his mother, Joy Marlow (Nystrom), who died on October 2, 2011, his adoptive father Lyle Nystrom, who died on January 18, 2011, his sisters Victoria (Vikki) Nystrom and Debra Nystrom, and his nieces Miriam Nystrom and Carol-Sue Riggs.

Paul is survived in death by his estranged son Casey Nystrom, his brother Don Nystrom, his nieces Natasha McDonald, Jessica Nystrom, and Dawn Nystrom, his nephews Yosef Mohamed and Yasin Mohamed, and all of their families. They will miss him.

###