Paul A. Grunland (1924–2018)
Photo: Daniella Thompson, 2008
It is with great sorrow that we learned of the death of longtime BAHA member and well-known and loved community volunteer and historian Paul Grunland. He was 93.
Paul was active in the Berkeley Historical Society, the Berkeley Path Wanderers Association, the El Cerrito Historical Society, and the Sierra Club, among numerous other organizations. He regularly led informative walking tours in Berkeley and Kensington, conducted interviews for oral histories, and documented the history of the Berkeley Woods tract, where he made his home with Mary (“Peggy”) Post Grunland, his wife of 62 years.
Before retiring, Paul managed the Capwell’s department store in El Cerrito Plaza. In 2013, he presented an illustrated lecture on the history of this shopping center to the El Cerrito Historical Society.
Paul was a nature lover, a lifelong outdoorsman, an avid skier and hiker. He was active through his 80s, participating in physically demanding Jepson Herbarium botanical workshops in remote locations. He was seen at practically every lecture in town, and attended a lecture in the Tilden Botanic Garden on Saturday, 27 January.
Paul passed away on Friday, 2 February 2018, after suffering a massive brain hemorrhage.
We will miss you, old friend.
posted by Daniella Thompson at 15:29
1 Comments:
We will miss you, indeed, Paul, and already do. How much positive energy you brought to any endeavor, how much potential you saw in projects, and how you prized and appreciated the contributions of others, while so often minimizing your own constant presence behind the scenes of so much that was good in Berkeley. You brought so much bright light with you—let us hope that we can find enough of us who can carry it forth.
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