PAUL PATRICK WHALEN March 1, 1931 – April 30, 2019
It is with great sadness the Whalen family announces the passing of long time Los Alamos resident, Paul Patrick Whalen on April 30, 2019.
Paul was born in Grand Island, Nebraska on March 1, 1931. He attended a 2-room country schoolhouse for 9 years then transferred to the city high school where he met the love of his life Rosemary Egelhoff.
Paul was a star athlete and set the state track record for the 880 yd run in 1949. He was also an outstanding student and the Valedictorian of his graduating class. Paul was awarded a scholarship to Cornell University and triple majored in mathematics, engineering, and physics.
After college he worked at the NASA wind tunnels then moved to Los Alamos in 1956 to begin his 61-year career at the lab. Paul was involved with computational physics, weapon outputs, primary design, radiation dose studies, and many other technical areas.
In February, Paul was very proud to be awarded the distinguished Los Alamos Medal. Paul enjoyed working at the lab with all of his colleagues. He always said, “It was a honor and privilege to live and work in Los Alamos. I loved every minute of it and would do it all again. I was so lucky.”
Paul and Rosemary were married in 1956 and happily started a family in Los Alamos, where they enjoyed skiing at Pajarito, swimming at the Barranca Pool, participating in sports, and scouting with their children.
Paul and Rosemary hosted epic summer parties and smaller gourmet wine dinners with friends and neighbors. They loved living in Los Alamos.
After raising their 6 children; Paul and Rosemary took pleasure in many beautiful trips to Europe with friends and family. The family is so very grateful to our sister, Kathy for her devotion and the loving care she provided our parents in their final years.
Paul will be greatly missed by his six children: Sheryl Bey (George), Lorraine Whalen (Chuck), Kathleen Whalen, Paul Whalen (Andrea), Mike Whalen (Kathleen), Bill Whalen (Heidi); 12 grandchildren, and 6 great grandchildren.
Please join us for a Celebration of Paul’s Life at Fuller Lodge on August 24, 2019 from 1:00-4:00 p.m.
