Paul W. Jespersen was born on March 25, 1910 in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Danish immigrants, Soren J. Jespersen and Amanda Weinreich Jespersen. For the past 67 years he was married to Lilly Matthiessen, originally from Copenhagen, Denmark. On May 31, 1935, Paul and Lilly were married in New York City and on July 1st they solemnized their marriage in the Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After graduating cum laude from the University of Utah in 1931 with a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering, Paul served as a missionary for the Church in Denmark before becoming the chief engineer of the Lang Company in Salt Lake City, were he worked until 1941. From 1941 until 1947 he was an engineer for the U.S. Internal Revenue Service's Engineering & Valuation Division, serving in Washington D.C., Chicago, Detroit, and San Francisco. Over the next 17 years, he rose to become executive vice president of the Steiner Company, a Division of the American Linen Supply Company in Chicago. While in Chicago, Paul supervised the establishment of 1,000 distributors, established four manufacturing concerns, and purchased several paper mills in this country and overseas. His astute development of patents and products important to the industrial maintenance field were instrumental in 1964 for the acquisition of his division by the Georgia-Pacific Corporation. While at Georgia-Pacific, Paul was the director of research and product development until 1975 when he retired. He continued to work with Georgia-Pacific as a valued independent consultant until his death. He is credited with over 100 inventions and several U.S. Patents covering paper towel and paper tissue dispensers and systems. Paul is best known for his early discoveries that ultimately led to the disposable paper diaper.
A devout and active member of the church his entire life, Paul served as bishop, stake president, regional chairman, patriarch, and temple sealer. He also fulfilled four full-time missions for the Church, including a second mission to Denmark, one at the Washington D.C. Temple, and one at the Salt Lake Family History Library. Active for over 55 years in the Boy Scouts of America, he served as Scoutmaster, Explorer Leader, Sea Explorer Skipper, and he was the recipient of the Silver Beaver Award. Each summer between 1961 and 1975 he led Explorers, family, and friends on canoe and survival trips into the Canadian wilderness. It was during that time he organized the "Seven C's" or "The Convivial, Canoeing, Camping, Cooking, Casting, and Cavorting Club," an informal group dedicated to his love and respect for the great outdoors. Although words seldom failed him, music provided his strongest emotional link to others. He was an accomplished violinist by age 12, sang in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and enthusiastically played his harmonica whenever the opportunity arose. A life-long champion of the arts, he also encouraged creativity in others and spent his declining years painting his favorite scenes and memories.
Survived by: beloved wife, Lilly M. Jespersen of Salt Lake City, and six children: Pauline (and James) Fontaine of Salt Lake City, Earl (and Ruth Ann) Jespersen of Hillsboro, VA, Roy (and Anne Morgan) Jespersen of Salt Lake City, Mark O. Jespersen of Marblehead, MA, Wayne (and Mary) Jespersen of Gainesville, FL, and Paul M. (and Sharon) Jespersen of Richmond, VA; 19 grandchildren, and ten great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held at Wasatch Lawn Mortuary Chapel, 3401 S. Highland Drive, Friday May 3, 2002, 12:00 noon. Viewing will be
6-8 p.m. Thursday, May 2, 2002 and one hour prior to services. Interment: Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park.
In lieu of flowers, please send contributions to the Missionary Fund of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.