Paul Southerland passed away at home surrounded by his wife and children on May 9, 2022, after an extremely brave and hard-fought battle with cancer.
Growing up on a farm in Columbus, Mississippi, Paul began plowing soybean fields and milking cows as a child. Always a life-long learner, Paul worked in numerous fields, from sales and business to software and corporate education, receiving awards and recognition from employers such as Siebel Systems and Oracle. The professional accomplishment of which he was most proud was his contracting work with the United States Marine Corps, specifically Global Combat Support Systems. Setting up a photography studio, Paul created a revolutionary training platform leveraging interactive visual methods, utilizing subject-matter experts, which greatly aided the Marine Corps' logistical capabilities and combat effectiveness.
Paul attended Wood Junior College and graduated from the University of Memphis where he was an officer in Sigma Chi Fraternity. Paul always loved the outdoors and enjoyed camping, boating, ATV's, jeeps and his motorcycles, but family was the most important thing to him, and he passed along his "Paul-isms' to both his children and grandchildren.
Paul is preceded in death by his mother Nina Southerland and is survived by his wife of 38 years, Dawn, his son Wil (Blair) of Lemoore, CA, and daughter Allie Southerland of Memphis, three grandsons: Wilson, Walker and Weston Paul Southerland of California, father Tommy Southerland of Columbus, sisters Ruthie Moss (Bill) of Columbus and Lynda Reich of Nettleton, and loving extended family.
Funeral services will be Thursday, May 12, at Crossroads Baptist Church, with visitation at 10, followed by the service at 11. The burial will take place on Saturday, May 14, at the Smith Family Cemetery located in Caledonia, Mississippi.
Memorials may be sent to Presbyterian Day School of Memphis or The Wingman Foundation.