Oct. 21, 1951 - March 24, 2008

Paul Raymond Converse died March 24 in an American hospital in Iraq from severe wounds received while working in Baghdad as a civilian for SIGIR (Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction).

Paul was born in Brookings, S.D., to Richard and Leona Converse. The family moved to Corvallis in 1967.

After graduating from Corvallis High School in 1969, he received a bachelor's degree in agricultural engineering technology from Oregon State University in 1978, a master's degree in business from the University of Oregon in 1985, and a Juris Doctor from the University of South Dakota in 1998. Throughout this period and until his death Paul was an enthusiastic and competitive swimmer. After his death, a friend and colleague of his in the Green Zone wrote that he and Paul had finally had a good swim on March 22, 2008, in an outdoor pool in the Green Zone that had just opened for the season.

In his younger years, Paul worked a wide range of jobs including land surveyor, Alaska cannery foreman, realtor and agricultural machinery salesman. Thereafter, he worked abroad, first for a U.S. non-profit organization in Romania, then on reconstruction projects for the United Nations in Bosnia and in Kosovo. In 2003 Paul was hired as an agricultural adviser for a U.S. firm working in northern Iraq. He subsequently transferred to the U.S. Department of State to work in central Iraq. In 2007 he was hired as a civilian financial adviser and worked for SIGIR in the Green Zone in Baghdad until his death in 2008.

Paul was preceded in death by his sister, Nancy Roe, in 1986. He is survived by his parents, Richard and Leona Converse of Corvallis; his brother, Frank Converse and wife, Beth Johnson, of Port Townsend, Wash.; brother-in-law James Roe III and wife Glenda Roe of Philomath; nephews James Roe IV and wife Breanne Roe of Redmond, and Frank Roe and wife Leslie Roe of Independence; niece Heather Roe Heidrick and husband Jeffrey; and grandnieces Lilian and Magnolia Heidrick of Newberg.

Paul's remains will be brought to Corvallis by a SIGIR colleague, and will be interred in the family plot at the Oaklawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Corvallis. A memorial service will be held for Paul at a later date.

Throughout his career, Paul followed his interest in helping to improve the livelihood and living conditions of people in several countries. Prior to his death, Paul was working to bring one of his Iraqi aides to the U.S. on an asylum program. A memorial fund has been created specifically to assist this person to become established in the United States. Those who wish to honor Paul can make a contribution to the Paul Converse Memorial Fund at the OSU Federal Credit Union by calling 541-714-4000.