Paul A. Klavano died quietly in his sleep on June 10, 2015 at Bishop Place Retirement Community in Pullman, WA. He was 95 years old.
His deep roots in Pullman started when he arrived at WSC in 1936 as a 16 year old freshman. He has lived in Pullman ever since, with the exception of two different one year periods. He was born in Valley, Washington, on November 30, 1919. His parents, Peter Klavano and Florence Meyer Klavano, had a farm in Stevens County. So Paul grew up with daily farm chores and lots of extra work during harvest. He graduated in 1936 as valedictorian of Valley High School, in a class of about 25 students. His mother encouraged him to go to college and he worked his way through WSC, graduating with a B.S. in Chemistry in 1941. Marching to and from class as a member of the Army Veterinary Corp, he graduated from Veterinary School in 1944. Meeting Martha Havighurst at a Lutheran Student Association picnic sparked a new interest for him and they were married on June 2, 1945. Joining the faculty at the Vet School in 1944 turned out to be a 42 to year connection until he retired in 1986. An even longer relationship in Pullman was with Trinity Lutheran Church. Starting in 1936, he served in almost every non-musical role a lay person could hold. He was known for his positive, uplifting spirit, his deep faith and caring ways, his wide generosity, and his amazing warm hugs. He in turn was given great support by the congregation, especially the last few years.
Paul and Martha had a lively family with four children, Robert (Byrna) of Puyallup, Ruth (deceased), Beth (Niel) Wiegand of Rochester, Minnesota, and Ann of Papua New Guinea. He had five grandchildren and four great grandchildren. His wife, Martha died in 2001, and daughter, Ruth, died in 2008.
He was a member of Rotary and also had a keen interest in Cougar baseball, volleyball, and both men's and women's basketball.
A Service of Celebration of his life will be held on Thursday, July 2, at 2:00 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church in Pullman.

Memorial gifts may be given to Trinity Lutheran Church, 1300 N.E. Lybecker Street, Pullman. WA 99163; or to the Dr. Paul A. Klavano Pharmacology Award, WSU Foundation, PO Box 641925, Pullman, WA 99164-1925 (or by phone using 800- 448-2978).