There could be no person anywhere who could have filled a room with more laughter and merriment, than Paul Hillinger. Never at a loss for a gentle joke or a sweet compliment—often cloaked with sly humor – it was Paul. When his funeral was held on August 12 at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, and later at the meal of condolence at his home in Lakewood, filled with family and hundreds of friends and acquaintances, the talk and laughter focused on his wonderful ability to find humor in just about everything. The sadness always pervading such an event was surely missing on that day, when his children spoke of the warm and funny moments in their lives when Paul was well and in his prime. Laughter rang out in Temple Israel’s sanctuary so
many times as different members of his family spoke of their memories. Indeed, some in the congregation smilingly remarked that “it was the best funeral” they had ever been to.
His daughter Randi told of an embarrassingly humorous moment when she had a first date with a casual friend and how Paul greeted him at the door when he arrived, and his son Steve spoke lovingly of how Paul taught him “to be a man.” Son David recounted many of his good natured pranks. But with each vignette, the guests at the funeral learned of how Paul with his great smile turned nearly every experience in their lives into a fun and memorable adventure—a rare ability. Paul loved life and took each day as an interesting challenge in which he could elicit some laughter. And his family returned the compliment at his passing by each wearing one of his hundreds of very jaunty — and some gently risqué -- ties.
Born in Oakland, California as a son of founding members of Temple Israel Long Beach, Paul was actually quite self-effacing, and made little note of his accomplishments. He received his bachelor of arts degree from U.C. Berkeley in 1943 and gained notoriety there as the second “Oski” by default, because when the first bear-suit-wearing- mascot Oski graduated, he said Paul was the only one who could fit in the suit. It’s easy to imagine the fun and tricks Paul played on visitors while wearing that bear head at college games!
He went into the U.S. Navy during WWII as a “90-day-wonder” officer, recalled his wife Arline, getting his training in the huge Navy base in Chicago. After serving in the Pacific as an LST (Landing Crafts for troops), he then, after the war, matriculated at USC where he earned a master’s degree in education. Subsequently he taught math in the Long Beach Unified School District for several years. Not satisfied with this occupation, he entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons (later renamed University of the Pacific) in San Francisco and became a dentist, earning his D.D.S. in 1953. He practiced for 50 years in Long Beach, leaving hundreds of his patients happy and smiling with shining healthy teeth and a catalogue of jokes.
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Dr. Paul Hillinger
Dr. Paul Hillinger, 1921 - 2014