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Obituary for Rex E. Paulsen
It is with great sadness that the family of Rex Edward Paulsen announces his passing on Friday, May 11, 2018, at the age of 92 years. Rex was born on the family farm in Zenith, Kansas on March 20, 1926. He was the oldest of four children. After completing high school in the neighboring town of Stafford, Rex decided to pursue an engineering degree at Kansas State University. In June of 1944, he transferred to the University of Kansas when he was selected for the V-12 Navy College Training Program. In 1946, at the age of 20, he earned his engineering degree. Later that year he married his sweetheart, Nathalee Knoche. They were stationed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, near Dayton, Ohio. After the war, he was honorably discharged and they moved to western Kansas, where they made their livelihood by farming and teaching. After a couple years of dust bowl farming, Rex had enough of farm life. He graduated from Stanford University in June of 1953, where he earned his Masters and PhD in Aeronautical Engineering and Engineering Mechanics.
Over the next 50 years, Rex became an expert in numerous engineering disciplines.
He designed aircraft at Hiller Helicopters and gyroscope navigation systems at Sperry. At Martin Marietta he worked on Titan rockets, Mars Viking Landers and environmental projects. In 1972, he became a professor of Engineering at the University of Denver. During his tenure he became the Dean of Environmental Engineering. He moved on to become vice president at Fay Engineering where he worked as a consulting engineer and expert witness at trials. He had several interesting cases, such as the Texas A&M bonfire accident, the Hyatt Regency pedestrian bridge collapse, the Conoco oil refinery explosion and several accidents involving cranes. He continued taking on engineering cases into his early 80’s.
Rex’s love and passion for Christ was evident to all who knew him. He used his time, talent and resources to further the Kingdom of God. As a member of St. James Presbyterian Church for over 50 years, he served as a teacher and elder. He was involved, for many years, with Gideons International, a ministry whose main objective is to provide free bibles to all who need them. He sat on the board of Christian Chaplain Services, Inc., a prison ministry, up until his death.
Rex is predeceased by Nathalee, his devoted wife of 62 years. Rex will be lovingly remembered by his four children and their spouses, Cynthia (Jim), Cara (Ron), Gregory (Patricia), and Brenda (Greg). He will also be fondly remembered by his nine grandchildren, Brett, Jessika, Matthew, Timothy, Kathleen, Amanda, Steven, Jonathan, and Emma. He is survived by four great-grandchildren, Catherine, Lauren, Norah, and Charlotte, as well as his siblings Dale and Kathleen. Preceded in death by his brother Lee.
A celebration of Rex’s life will be held at 2:00 pm, on Friday, May 18th, at St. James Presbyterian Church, 3601 W. Belleview Ave., Littleton, CO 80123. A private viewing for close friends and family will occur at 1:00 pm, at the church. Interment will follow at the Littleton Cemetery.
IN LIEU OF FLOWERS THE FAMILY PREFERS MEMORIAL DONATIONS IN REX'S MEMORY TO: The Gideons International Processing Center, P.O. Box 97251, Washington, DC 20090-7251 or Christian Chaplain Services, Inc., P.O. Box 3961, Englewood, CO 80155-3961
