Donald Gerhart Paxson, of Boothbay Harbor, died Aug. 29, at his home following a brief illness.
Don was born in Baltimore, Md. on Nov. 27, 1933, shortly before his family moved to the Philadelphia area. He grew up in Narberth and Merion, Penn., where he attended Lower Merion High School.
Following high school graduation, Don served in the Army for two years, as an MP in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he also played on the base football team.
Upon his return to Pennsylvania Don went back to school, earning his Master’s degree in biology from West Chester University. He married his high school girlfriend, Jane Hutchinson, with whom he had a daughter and son.
He taught for 30 years, first at Ridley Middle School and then at Upper Darby High School in Drexel Hill, Penn. After retirement from teaching, Don spent two years in sports merchandising, working to develop a soccer equipment line. Don remarried, to Sandra Spitzner in 1984, and expanded his family to include another son and daughter. In 1994, they embarked on a year of traveling the country together, homeschooling the children, and exploring new places in their RV. While visiting Maine, they discovered Boothbay Harbor and decided to settle here permanently.
Don’s family was always the centerpiece of his life. He was a loving husband and doting father and grandfather, always ready to give encouragement and provide a sense of strength and security when needed. Don led by example, giving his children a true understanding of right and wrong and valuing a strong work ethic. He was an animal lover too. His pets were always just like another member of his family.
Soccer was a passion of Don’s life. He was a player for a number of years with the suburban Philadelphia club team, but primarily a coach. He loved the tactical strategy and emphasis on team synergy of the sport. Don went to the Netherlands in 1975 to study the Dutch system of play at the Royal Football Academy in Amsterdam and wrote a book describing the method upon his return. He was the boys’ soccer coach at Upper Darby High School for 17 years. He was awarded Coach of the Year in 1971, as well as receiving the Robert Dunn service award from the Southeastern PA Soccer Coaches Association in 2009. In 1984, Don was chosen to head the women’s soccer program at Villanova University where he coached the team to its first EC-AC championship. He also coached the boys and girls soccer teams in Boothbay Harbor for a few years. Don served as the chairman of the High School All-American committee for the National Soccer Coaches Association. He was instrumental in preserving the association back in the 1970s when there was a concerted effort by some groups to disassociate the US federation from FIFA, the international organization, which would have made it impossible for American teams to participate in World Cup competition.
Don enjoyed traveling, fishing, all manner of sports, listening to his favorite songs of the 40s and 50s, driving his shiny red Falcon convertible, and spending time with his family and friends. He took advantage of his later years to learn new things, trying his hand at watercolor, woodworking, and selling on eBay. He had a wonderfully silly sense of humor, even finding ways of poking fun at the stroke he had in May 2012.
Don is predeceased by his brother, Harold “Nick” Paxson, with whom he was very close.
Survivors include his wife, Sandra Paxson of Boothbay Harbor; daughters, Lesley Paxson, of Chester Springs, Penn., and Victoria Paxson, of Boothbay Harbor; sons, Donald Paxson and wife Kirsten of Bath and Wade Paxson of Rockville, Md.; grandchildren, Tyler and Tanner Pascocello, and Easton and Reece Ferry-Paxson, and nieces, Barbara Urban and Susanne Hicklin.
Celebration of Don’s life 5 p.m., Tues., Sept. 4, at the Simmons, Harrington & Hall Funeral Home, 975 Wiscasset Rd., Boothbay.
Should friends desire, donations may be made to the Boothbay Region Humane Society, PO Box 7, Edgecomb, ME 04556 or the Boothbay Region Student Aid Fund, PO Box 293, Boothbay Harbor, ME 04538.
You are invited to share your condolences, photos and tributes with the family by visiting their Book of Memories at www.hallfuneralhomes.com.
Arrangements are entrusted to the Simmons, Harrington & Hall Funeral Home, Boothbay.
