WILKENING, Paul Grimm
(Age 66)

My beloved husband of 43 years, Paul, passed away too soon on May 5th, 2018, at home surrounded by family and amazing friends. He fought pancreatic cancer with a vengeance and a great attitude. He made it clear that he had no regrets and had lived a great life (That he did!). He was born in Spokane to Stan and Coralyn (Mitchell) Wilkening, on November 30, 1951, the fourth of ten children. We met while working at Clinkerdagger's in 1974 and married in August of 1975. Life with Paul was an adventure as we moved to Hawaii, to Spokane, Alaska, and back to good ol' Spokane. Our beautiful son, Christopher, was a gift to us on August 22, 1985, completing our little circle. Paul loved his family with a passion. He retired at 62, after his career of selling real estate and building homes. He was on the board of directors for Habitat for Humanity, a past president of the Inland Empire Blues Society and a longtime volunteer with the Iditarod sled dog race. He is survived by his wife, Tuija, son Chris and his sweet wife, Becky, siblings Tina (Mark), Ann Marie (Bob), Donna, Angela, Cathy, Loretta, Pete (Carrie), Pat (Cami), mother-in-law Eila Parviainen, sisters-in-law Anne Hoesly (Howie King) and Eija Silver, brothers-in-law Andy Parviainen, Michael Looper, Dick Hoesly and Scott Silver, countless nieces, nephews, and a wealth of special friends. Paul loved life and lived it BIG. "I love you to the stars and back", until we meet again. Longer the stronger. A celebration of life service will be held on Thursday, May 24th at 4pm at Hennessey Funeral Home, 2203 N. Division. A reception will follow at Hennessey's. To leave a note for the family, please visit hennesseyfuneralhomes.com.

Published by Spokesman-Review on May 20, 2018.
 

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/spokesman/name/paul-wilkening-obituary?id=16900177