Paul Wayne Bryson, 62, a resident of Mount Vernon, passed away unexpectedly at his home on Saturday, January 11, 2014.
Paul was born on November 30, 1951 in Burlington, WA, the son of Spencer & Barbara (Kidd) Bryson. The family made their home in Lyman where Paul was raised and attended grade school. He attended middle school and high school in Sedro-Woolley, graduating with the class of 1970.
After school he worked as a pea vine operator and other agriculture occupations and worked on the family farm in Lyman for several years. He later worked in the kitchen preparing foods at the Mount Vernon Food Co-Op for many years and recently as wait staff at Denny’s restaurant.
Paul enjoyed reading, volunteering at the Skagit Valley Fair, going to the ice shows and especially the circus. He enjoyed bringing joy and laughter into people’s lives and often would dress in his clown costume and walk the street and wave at the children.
Paul is survived by his siblings, Charles Ashley of Punta Gorda, FL, Lorene Allen of Burlington, WA, Bill Ashley and wife Nancy of Longview, WA, Jerry Ashley of Clear Lake, WA, Bonnie Shriner of Tolarie, CA and Ron Bryson and his companion Diane Gorsuch of Sedro-Woolley, WA; his longtime friend Theo Van Zanten of Mount Vernon and a host of nieces and nephews. Paul was preceded in death by his parents, Spencer & Barbara; a brother Lonnie Ashley and sister, Dorothy Rusell. In memory of Paul the family suggests that memorials be made to the Friendship House in Mount Vernon.
Graveside Services will be held on Friday, January 17, 2014 at 2:30 PM at the Sedro-Woolley Union Cemetery with Pastor Rick Miles officiating. Visitation is available at and services under the direction of Lemley Chapel, Sedro-Woolley.
I went to 3rd grade with Paul in Lyman, that was so many years ago. I also remember attending Bible school with him in Hamilton. We were friends then, later I moved away, but I remember him well. Rest in Peace.
I met Paul well over a year ago. Paul was a client of mine for employment services. I have never enjoyed a client as much as Paul. We spent a lot of time riding around together to apply for work, shopping for clothes and just visiting. Paul was very kind, gracious and creative.Paul always asked about my family and especially a son of mine who has a great disability.Paul has a big heart. He showed me his carnival ride pictures and we searched the web for the Circus things he was interested in. Paul brought his clown suit to the office to show us. October of 2012 he was getting ready for his appearance at the Tattered Page book store. I shared with him that I was going to face paint that evening for our church. He thought that was awesome. Paul really loved animals, his birds and always paused to look at flowers. Most recently I helped Paul get a job at Denny’s .He was so happy . The manager was so very nice to him. Paul only worked for a little over a month. Just after h is hire I had a small birthday thing for him in the office. We had trick candles, but the thing that made Paul laugh the most was that I just couldn’t seem to cut the semi frozen cake right. I will really miss him, but he had a strong faith in Jesus. He is in a big circus with lots of flowers and clowns and rides. We will meet again someday.
Paul was one of the sweetest men I ever met. I worked with him at Skagit Valley Food Co-op, and when I was impatient, he would ask me what was wrong. We went to carnivals, fairs and a couple of circuses together. On Tuesday night, we sometimes went to family night at the Royal Fork, where I introduced him to my friend, Binky the Clown. Binky showed him how to tie balloons and gave Paul tips on clown make-up. Paul loved that! We always ate too much! Paul met my husband, and always asked about him when I saw him, not because it was a social thing, but because he really wanted to know, he cared.
I will really miss Paul, he gave great hugs and was unfailingly kind.
Paul was a frequent rider of my bus and was always friendly with me and fellow passengers. He enjoyed talking about the circus with me. I will miss him riding with me and waving when we passed each other. He was a bright spot in my day.
I remember about Paul was he liked coming to peer group and talking about his birds (he also liked to ask about our dogs… he’d say “hows the pooches”). he also liked rocky road ice cream on his birthday at peer group. I will really miss him.
Rest in peace uncle Paul.
Mike