Paul Edward Mersereau died peacefully on the morning of Saturday, August 17, 2019 at the age of 80. Paul was a long time resident of the Hartford, CT area and most recently of Palm City, FL. He battled cancer for two years, but in true Paul fashion, did so calmly and without complaint, only showing the effects of the disease during his last month of life. He passed surrounded by his loving family and the many friends who visited him during his last days at the Westerly Hospital. Paul was born to Dorothy and Harold Mersereau in 1939 in the small industrial town of Endicott, NY. After receiving a modest public school education in upstate New York, Paul’s aunt Gladys, a college counselor, introduced him to an array of Ivy and Potted Ivy schools. He was accepted with scholarship to all of them and ultimately chose Williams College, a place he loved and which changed his life. After college he matriculated directly to Harvard Law School, whose Socratic Method he found in stark contrast to Williams’ mountain setting with eight students debating under the trees. Paul did not fit well at law school and would have withdrawn but for a rekindled romance with his high school sweetheart, Carol, who had lost her husband suddenly, leaving her with two infant children. Paul and Carol were married after his first year at Harvard and, with a young family to support, it was time to finish law school and get serious about a career. Upon graduation, Paul joined Reid and Riege where he worked for 25 years and under Jack Riege’s tutelage, developed an interest in many Hartford area activities including the Urban League, the Combined Health Appeal (President), the United Way (President), the Hartford Golf Club (President), the Betty Knox Foundation, and the Asylum Hill Congregational Church. After 25 years, he joined a firm that would later be named Drew & Mersereau where he practiced estate and family law for another 25 years. But his occupation was always secondary to his love of family and of a game that came to define Paul’s life, golf. He learned on the public courses of Endicott where, for 25 cents, he could play 36 holes a day plus get a hamburger and a chocolate shake at the turn. Though many of his high school friends went professional, he never had their distance off the tee and when his five iron second shot could no longer compete with their pitching wedges, Paul knew golf was destined to be his life’s avocation, not vocation. Paul served as Secretary of the Hartford Golf Club before being elected President in the early 1990s. During the Club’s Centennial Celebration in 1996, Paul also chaired the USGA Men’s Mid-Amateur Tournament, hosted at the Club. Through that experience, Paul met many men and women on the national and international golf scene, and golf administration became one of his primary interests. He was a 20 plus year member of the Royal and Ancient Golf Society of St Andrews, Scotland; the US Seniors; a Committee Member of the USGA; and a Past President of the Connecticut Seniors and the Connecticut Junior/Seniors. He was a member of the Hartford Golf Club for over 50 years and Taconic Golf Club of Williamstown, MA for over 60 years. Though he competed in countless tournaments around the world, and shot his age on more than one occasion, he was most proud to have played in 52 of the 55 Williams College Alumni Guest Tournaments, the last one just weeks ago when, due to his illness, his granddaughter (also an alumna) played in his place alongside her cousin. His interest in golf led him to become a founding Director of The First Tee of Connecticut, which provided him over 20 years of delight watching young men and women learn the 9 Core Values of Life through the medium of golf, the same core values that also defined Paul’s life: honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy, and judgment. Paul’s service to others was a hallmark of his life and in addition to the organizations named above, he served on countless committees for his college and his community throughout his life, including serving on the Development Committee and chairing the Annual Giving Fund of the Hartford Hospital for eight years. Paul was married twice, to Carol Harman for 22 years and Lorene Roccon for seven. From these marriages, he had six loving children and 13 grandchildren: David Mersereau who succumbed to cancer 12 years ago in LaJolla, CA; Denise and Galan Daukas of Watch Hill, RI and Delray Beach, FL and their three children Courtney, Annie and Geb; Pam and Ty Dickinson of Lincoln, MA and Block Island, RI and their four daughters Cat, Caley, Sibley and Reese; Chris and Joyce Mersereau of Concord, MA, and their three children Jack, Pierce and Josie; Alexandra and Alexander Vander Baan of Dedham, MA and their son Rohm; and Meleah and Lee Hameroff of Columbia, CT and their twin daughters Harper and Sylvie. He is predeceased by his son David and his sister Susanne Searles who also passed this year. Paul was very close to all of his children and grandchildren, modeling for them that kindness and service to others are the reasons we are put on this earth. A memorial celebration of Paul’s life will be held on Friday, September 13th at 11:00 AM at the Asylum Hill Congregational Church in Hartford followed by a reception at the Hartford Golf Club. All are welcome. Donations in Paul’s memory may be made to The First Tee of Connecticut, 55 Golf Road, Cromwell, CT 06416. The Carmon Funeral Home of Avon is caring for the arrangements. To leave an online condolence, please visit www.carmonfuneralhome.com
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