Paul J. Lovell Sr., 101, of Bridgeport, died Saturday (July 7, 2012) at Heritage Nursing Home.
He was born April 22, 1911 in Clarksburg, a son of Floris Lee Lovell and Bessie Bird Lovell.
He is survived by one brother, Harold B. Lovell and his wife Lillian of Pleasanton, Calif.; a daughter, Charlotte E. Flowers and her husband Robert of Fairmont; a son, Paul J. Lovell Jr. of Bridgeport; and grandchildren, R. Bryan Flowers and his wife Tammy, and Lori Flowers Dunn and her husband Alan.
Also surviving are great-grandsons, R. Gannon Flowers and Bryson Flowers; a great-granddaughter, Sierra and her mother Kelly Constable Flowers; and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death in 1992 by his wife of 57 years, Beatrice “Bea” Lovell. He also was preceded in death by a grandson, M. David Flowers, in 2009; a brother, Dennis G. Lovell; and sisters, Geraldine Lawson and Ernestine Lovell.
Mr. Lovell started his career in Clarksburg at the age of 16 in 1927 at Manhattan Restaurant washing dishes for 12 hours each day in the summer. Two weeks after graduation from Victory High School in 1929, he was employed by Stout Co., a restaurant equipment company, and worked there continuously for 80 years until 2009, eventually becoming president and co-owner. The only time that Mr. Lovell spent away from his job was the 1 1/2 years he served in the U.S. Army during World War II. His unit was captured during the Battle of the Bulge; he lost an eye and spent several months as a prisoner of war in Heppenheim, Germany. Due to the inhumane treatment and lack of food, Mr. Lovell’s health suffered and he spent a number of months recovering in a Martinsburg veterans hospital before returning home to his wife and family.
At the time prior to his death, Mr. Lovell was believed to be the oldest living World War II POW in the United States. He was a member of the American Legion Post No. 68 and was an active member of the Barbed Wire Mountaineers Chapter No. 1 of American Ex-Prisoners of War.
Mr. Lovell was an active member of Bridgeport Baptist Church for 62 years, where he served as a deacon and greeter.
Friends and family will be received at Ford Funeral Home, Allen Chapel, 215 E. Main St., Bridgeport, from 2-4 p.m. and 5-8 p.m. Wednesday. Mr. Lovell will lie in state at Bridgeport Baptist Church, 556 Worthington Drive, Bridgeport, from 10-11 a.m. Thursday. Funeral services will be held in the church at 11 a.m. Thursday with Pastor Tom Edgell officiating. Interment will follow the service at Bridgeport Cemetery in Bridgeport. Full military funeral rites will be conducted at the graveside.
Online condolences may be made at www.fordfuneralhomes.com.
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Paul J. Lovell Sr.
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