Joseph E. Paul

Joseph E. Paul, 89, a husband, father, brother, son, coach, and friend, passed away in Dayton, Ohio on October 1st, 2025.

He joins in heaven his beloved wife of 53 years Sandy, his parents Vincent & Genevieve, and siblings Vincent, Frances, Margaret (“Peg”), David, and Albert Paul. Joe is survived by his daughters, Darcy Rodman and Stefani Paul, as well as his older sister Mary Lou Squance, and numerous nieces, nephews and extended family members.

At his core, Joe was a football coach through and through. After playing football, basketball and baseball growing up, Joe played both football and baseball at his cherished college, the University of Dayton (Go Flyers!) where he majored in education, pre-med and pranks, although it was never proven the latter was a legitimate major.

Joe’s early career in secondary education meant teaching and coaching at several high schools throughout Ohio. He often recounted tales of his early years of coaching and teaching with great fondness. It’s what made Joe tick. Even his first coaching stint, coaching the 8th graders at Holy Angels Catholic School when he was injured his senior year at the UD brought him so much joy; the coaching bug caught him very early and never let go. Coaching at schools like Lakewood St. Edward High School, Youngstown Ursuline High School, Cambridge High School and Medina Highland High School over a 40+ year career allowed him to fill his desire to serve and direct young men to become the best versions of themselves.

Joe also coached at two different colleges during his career: Lafayette College and Muskingum University, where he made lifelong friends as well. He stayed in touch with so many coaches and players from his time at all these schools you’d never realize it had been sometimes 20 or 30+ years since he had seen them.

Behind Joe’s success was his family, and he was well aware. He was introduced to his wife Sandy by one of his assistant coaches at the time and never looked back. She often took the girls after school to see him on the practice field and always made sure to sit down as a family to eat dinner. Something must have rubbed off – Darcy, his eldest, went into primary education, and his love for football was passed down to his youngest, Stefani, who worked for several teams in the NFL for 15+ years.

Joe will be remembered by many as a man of principle and conviction; someone who always tried to help anyone he saw with a need, and someone you could always count on for help. He loved his family, his players and his church, and he will be greatly missed.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Charles Borromeo (4500 Ackerman Blvd) on Saturday, December 6th.