Paul Minnig dies at 87

DOWNEY – Paul Minnig, a longtime resident of Downey, passed away peacefully at his residence this month at age 87. A pioneer and innovator in the early days of computers, he was a husband, father and grandfather, and volunteer at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church.

He attended Loyola High School in Los Angeles until his father’s untimely death obliged him to work to help support his mother and two sisters while attending school at night.

Following a stint in the Merchant Marines, Paul returned to Southern California and took a job at the Auto Club of Southern California, where he met and married Florine Hurley.

At the Auto Club, Paul joined the new field of data processing; programming and specifying state-of-the-art computers; advising, testing and developing protocols for a new field of data storage and manipulation. He culminated his career as project manager for the construction of the massive data center for AAA on Fairview in Costa Mesa.

Following his retirement, he became a founding member of his community association, serving on the board of directors for more than 20 years. He also served as an usher at OLPH’s Saturday night Mass for over 25 years.

He is survived by his two sons (Bill and Michael), their wives (Mia and Eileen) and two granddaughters (Alyson and Kyla).

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Published: May 1, 2014 - Volume 13 - Issue 03