“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” – Mark Twain
Paul H. Miete Jr., age 90, died peacefully alongside family on July 28, 2025 in Brunswick.
Born on Oct. 7, 1934, he was the son of Barbara (Reed) and Paul Miete Sr. He was raised in the town of Alna, where he attended the schoolhouse and later graduated from Wiscasset High School. His real education began at an early age, guided by his parents, grandfather, aunts, and uncles who carried on the ways of their Finnish lineage. His classrooms were back roads, saunas, horseshoe pits, bowling alleys, and, most importantly, the Maine woods.
Never merely a profession for him, being a logger was what made Paul, Paul. When he wasn’t working in the woods, he took to them to hunt and fish, which often included multiple-mile walks to get to spots few had ever seen.
He met his wife, Shirley (Joslyn) in the early ‘50s when they impressed each other by dancing the jitterbug. Together, they kept dancing and had five children. They spent time playing board and card games with family, traveling the U.S. and Canada, seeing countless concerts, and in the mid-‘70s they began to share their faith as Jehovah’s Witnesses. He was an elder at the Newcastle congregation and was valued for his quiet and practical wisdom.
Paul had many hobbies that he enjoyed in his long life, which included stockcar racing, playing numerous musical instruments, a love of listening to music (especially ‘50s and ‘60s country legends), hunting, fishing, camping, and telling his unpretentious jokes that often came from personal experience, to name a few. Most of all, he enjoyed people. He was proud to have old friends everywhere and make new ones anytime. The huge family he helped grow always kept him company. Every new baby born into the family had him as excited as the first, and when it was time for his last annual Florida trip, he stayed home to be here when his 23rd great-grandchild and first great-great-grandchild were to be born.
For Paul’s new chapter, he said he looks forward to “being with Shirley” and “getting another logging truck and getting back out in the woods.”
Paul was predeceased by his wife, Shirley; his parents; and a great-grandchild. He is survived by his daughter, Pam and her husband, Steve Jones, of Brunswick; son, David Miete and his wife, Bonnie, of Wiscasset; daughter, Vicky and her husband, David Hunter, of Brunswick; daughter, Paula and her husband, Jerry Scarborough, of Boothbay; son, Barry Miete and wife, Lynnette, of Woolwich; 16 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild; his sister, Ann Flanders, of Wiscasset; and many nieces and nephews. He will be fondly missed by all.
