Paul Wermuth Scheele

Paul Wermuth Scheele, 94, passed away Saturday, December 5, 2020.  He was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana on October 4, 1926 to Paul Henry Scheele and Martha (Wermuth) Scheele, the fifth of six children.

He is survived by his wife, Margaret (Kuntz) Scheele, sister Martha (Scheele) Reinking, his three children, Tim Scheele (Linda), Christine (Scheele) Weerts (Luke) and David Scheele (Bernice), four grandchildren, Katherine Scheele, Emily (Scheele) Newman, Allison Scheele and Meagan Scheele, along with two great grandchildren, Henry and Elliette  Newman. He was preceded in death by his parents, brother Charles Scheele and sisters Barbara (Scheele) Wasserman, Adelheid Scheele and Dorothy (Scheele) Feirtag.

He graduated from Southside High School in Fort Wayne, working summers in construction, before entering the army in 1944 and serving in Europe.  He wore his WWII Vet ball cap proudly and, in recent years, was frequently thanked for his service wherever he went. He could strike up a conversation with anyone and regularly did so on trips to the store.  After WWII,  he attended Purdue University and married his high school sweetheart, Margaret Ann Kuntz, in 1950.  While attending Purdue, Paul was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon and elected to Tau Beta Pi and Iron Key honorary societies.  Upon graduating with a civil engineering degree, he moved to Indianapolis and began a life-long career and interest in commercial construction, moving to Jacksonville in 1984 to continue work in the field.  He was active in both civic and trade organizations, especially in education, serving on committees for Purdue University, Bradley University, and IUPUI, as well as taking leadership roles in the Building Contractors Association, American Council for Construction Education, and Junior Achievement of Central Indiana, among others.  He also played a role in the establishment of the Construction Education Management program at Purdue and the University of Florida.

A lifelong member of the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod, Paul was a member of Celebration Lutheran Church, Jacksonville.  He was an accomplished gardener and spent some of his most enjoyable time outdoors, particularly making his back yard in Jacksonville a place of beauty.  He had a love of sailing and in earlier years spent many happy hours with Margaret on their sailboat at Lake Wawasee in Indiana. He is also remembered by his children for the many family trips to state parks in Indiana (with detours along the way to visit construction sites).  In later years, he and Margaret enjoyed traveling, both domestically and in Europe.  He was a great fan of Big Ten sports, especially Purdue University football and basketball. He will be greatly missed by his family and by those who knew him.

A funeral service will be held at Celebration Lutheran Church, 810 Roberts Road at 1 pm on Saturday, January 16, 2021.