My F&M

Looking Back on Paul’s Passing

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On May 9, 2020, a member of the Foster & Motley family passed away suddenly.  Paul was a long time financial planner and shareholder. The below reflection and lessons learned come from one of our team members who was particularly close to him. 

As I think about the one-year anniversary of Paul Staubach’s passing, I find myself missing him deeply, remembering the good times, and reflecting on what I’ve learned through this experience. First, time passes so quickly. When the pandemic hit, I thought the days and weeks would feel long, and it’s been anything but - the fact that it has been one year since Paul passed is hard to believe, it feels more like days or weeks. I’m reminded to make sure I am doing everything I can to maximize each day. As Paul often said, “make hay while the sun is shining”. Another takeaway is that tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. As a Financial Planner I spend my days helping clients plan - not only for the current year, but often for decades to come. Paul’s passing has provided me perspective and reminds me that short-term goals can be equally as important as long-term goals. We need to balance planning for those future decades while making sure we are enjoying life and making memories in the near term. A more practical lesson that I’ve learned through this is that even though estate planning tends to be everyone’s least favorite topic to work through, it can become the most important task in a split second. And finally, make sure your family and loved ones know how you feel about them, that they are loved and cherished. Make sure they know how important they are to you and how much you value them being in your life; we never know when a conversation with someone might be our last.

Paul was my boss and my coworker, but more importantly he was a mentor and a father figure. A day doesn’t go by where I don’t think of him, miss him, and wish I could have one more conversation with him. I take solace in knowing that he continues to teach me and guide me, even through his passing. And despite the deep loss many of us still feel from the loss of Paul, I am honored to be able to share that his legacy is living on through the Paul Staubach Memorial Endowed Named Evans Scholarship. With the funds donated, a caddie from the Dayton area who was an excellent student throughout their high school career, a varsity athlete, and a member of the National Business Honors Academy was able to complete his freshman year at Miami University studying finance, and has three more years to come without worrying about tuition or room and board.

I also know that being together with others who loved Paul is an important part of the grieving process, so I am glad to share that his family is planning a public celebration of life later this year. We will share more details as they are available. Also, the thoughtful words Dave Foster shared shortly after Paul’s passing are still up on our website for those who want to revisit those sentiments: Mourning a Loss, Celebrating a Life.