Paul Lanius

November 28, 1931 - October 3, 2013

Paul Fisher Lanius, Jr., age 81 of Indian Hills Road in Columbia, passed away Thursday, October 3, 2013 at Maury Regional Medical Center.

Funeral services will be conducted on Sunday, October 6, 2013 at 3:00 PM in the chapel of Heritage Funeral Home with Rev. Jeff Jacobs officiating. Burial will follow at Polk Memorial Gardens. Friends are welcomed to visit the family on Sunday from 12:00 noon until the 3:00 PM service hour at the funeral home. Heritage Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.

Paul was born November 28, 1931 in College Grove, TN and was the son of the late Rev. Paul Fisher Lanius Sr. and Mrs. Louise Paty Lanius Cooke. He was a graduate of Columbia Central High School and attended Vanderbilt University. He was employed with Union Carbide for many years and was a member of Craft United Methodist Church. He worked through the degrees of the Masonic Lodge and had been a member of the Columbia Lodge 31 F&AM and the Al Menah Shrine Temple in Nashville.

Paul was surrounded from early in life with an example of faith in Christ as his father was a Methodist Minister, serving the First Methodist Church in Columbia. His faith and commitment was evident in the fact that as a young man of 18, he married the former Louise Bell. Their life together was blessed with a son and daughter: Paul Fisher and Linda; and 63 years of travel and experiences that will never be forgotten.

His dry humor and winning smile made him a natural at being around people. Having never met a stranger, he was just the right person the ladies enjoyed seeing when they entered the Columbia dress shop, “All That Jazz”, owned and operated by Paul and his wife, Louise. In his free time, he loved to work in his yard and “shooting the deer” with his camera. His photography skills have always been enjoyed by his family, capturing the beauty and serenity of the family property.

In recalling their father, his children were quick to describe him as loving, gentle and quiet. His greatest passion seemed to be family, his children and grandchildren.

In addition to his wife of 63 years: Louise Lanius; Paul is survived by a daughter: Linda (Dan) Ploger of Sarasota, FL; son: Paul Fisher (Anita) Lanius, III of Jackson, MO; sister: Pat (Henry) Bryum of Sumter, South Carolina; granddaughter: Jennifer Nicole Lanius; grandsons: Ryan (Nancy) Ploger of Sarasota, FL, Dr. Troy (Nicole) Ploger of St. Petersburg, FL; and great granddaughter: Lillian. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a grandson: Jim Presson; two brothers: Bob and Neal Lanius; and a sister: Mary Louise Smith.

The family has requested those serving as pallbearers will be: Jimmy Rowland, Keith Baker, A.C. Jennings, Dr. Gary Podgorski, Scott Dillard, Charlie Keltner, and Harlin “Buddy” Casteel.

Honorary pallbearers will be Larry Murphy, Dr. Taylor Rayburn, Don Garner, Sonny Thomas, Jimmie Lantrip, and the Retirees of the Maintenance Department of Union Carbide.

The family would like to extend a Thank You to Paul’s special caregivers: Valarie Gant, Tracey Cosey, Anna Odom, Isabell Clemons, and Brittany Gant.

The family requests that memorial donations be sent in the Lanius name to Craft Memorial United Methodist Church: 907 Hatcher Lane, Columbia, TN 38401.

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