Before his death on April 8, 2016 at 82, Paul Leroy Crumpler lived life with genuine joy and a profound appreciation for freedom, flavorful food and moments of togetherness with the family and friends he so dearly loved. Quick with a broad, infectious smile and always armed with jokes, Paul loved to make people laugh. His sharp comedic timing and warm, witty sense of humor put others at ease no matter the situation. Even during his final days, his lighthearted spirit and outsized personality brought smiles to the staff at Bayfront Health in Dade City.Born Oct. 2, 1933, in New London, Pennsylvania, Paul was the second son of Evelyn and Norman Crumpler, who went on to have three more sons together. The family lived in Ohio and Delaware before Norman abandoned them. Raising five boys on her own, Evelyn worked up to three jobs at a time to make ends meet. To help out, Paul quit school in the eighth-grade and went to work. A provider and a protector, his swift left hook taught more than a few bullies not to mess with his younger brothers.As a teen Paul worked at a local drug store and as a warm-up horse jockey at a racetrack in Stanton, Delaware. He dreamed of becoming a jockey himself until a growth spurt made him too strong and stout to ride competitively. Paul was naturally gifted at welding and riveting. Once, drawing only from a picture on a postcard, he created a precise replicaright down to the elevatorof the Eifel Tower. The 20-foot tall tower was featured in a display on the Seven Wonders of the World outside a shopping center in Columbus, Ohio. Joining the Marines, Paul served in Japan at the end of the Korean War. Assigned a 30-caliber Browning Automatic Rifle, his marksmanship skills earned him instructor status. Throughout his time in the service, he forwarded every paycheck directly to his mother. Upon being discharged, he joined his family in Tampa and never left the area. As an iron worker with Florida Steel Corp., he acted as a supervisor on the construction of the Exchange Bank in Tampa and helped create a man-made island in the Bahamas.A natural adventurer, he fulfilled a lifelong dream by driving across Europe, stopping in small towns to sample whatever cuisine the chef would recommend. A big fan of the Indy 500 and the Daytona 500, he especially relished a drive on Germanys famed Autobahn, where he reached speeds of 115 mph. Although a masterful storyteller, Paul never really learned to read as a child and suffered with mild dyslexia. Undaunted, he taught himself to read as an adult, immersing himself in biographies on leading historical figures and devouring several newspapers a day. Thanks to dictation software, his homemade greeting cards for family members further brightened their special occasions. A Christian, his faith shined brightest in his willingness to help anyone in need. Paul never hesitated to stop and assist strangers contending with car troubleeven after a freak accident while helping a stranded motorist cost him two broken legs and spinal injuries.Most of all, Paul loved hosting family and friends at his rural home in Dade City. Whether serving flapjacks and biscuits and gravy (the latter a closely guarded family recipe that takes an hour to create), or his famed collard greens soup, Paul generously shared whatever he had with others. Interned at Hodges Funeral Home in Zephyrhills, hes survived by his sons, Paul J. Crumpler and Phil Crumpler, and his daughter, Kelly Kelly, and his grandsons, Austin Travis and Tanner Bryce Crumpler, and his granddaughters, Ronda and Leah Kelly.