"Enough Left to Bring Home"

On that Monday morning last month when I received the email from Brian Burns that Paul had died, I just sat there stunned. I’m retired and living in Virginia, so I couldn’t rush into work to talk with others who had known him. Instead, I found myself reaching into my file drawer for a folder that I had kept since the mid-80s when I first came to work in genetics at Emory. When I retired, it was one of files I made sure to pack.

I opened the folder labeled simply “humor” and there I found Paul.  Hilarious photos of Paul and the genetics crew. Genetics-related cartoons Paul regularly distributed. Notes with his slightly twisted takes on journal articles. 

In preparing for today,  I looked up “sense of humor”  and found several quotes that have Paul written all over them:

" A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done."  Dwight D. Eisenhower

" Humor is the great thing, the saving thing. The minute it crops up, all our irritations and resentments slip away….  ". Mark Twain

 " A sense of humor... is needed armor. Joy in one's heart and some laughter on one's lips is a sign that the person down deep has a pretty good grasp of life." Hugh Sidey

And finally,

"Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing."  William James

Always generous with his knowledge and time, Paul moved at high speed but with a grace and a sense of humor that added a real joy to the lives of those around him. His outsized energy was rare. It acted as a sharpening stone for the wit and wits of the rest of us. Can any of us who worked with him over the years imagine those years without him?

Recently I was shown how far his influence reached into my life as I’m sure it did for the lives of others. Shortly after learning of Paul’s death, I told both of my daughters. Lauren, now grown with children of her own, knew Paul when she was a Candy Striper at Egleston and when she worked in the genetics lab as a teenager. Yesterday, when I told her I was coming to Atlanta for this service, we talked about Paul. She said she had thought about him all day that day. She fondly remembered Paul including her in the hilarious lunch-time gatherings a group of us in genetics regularly had at Egleston. My younger daughter Erin said “Mom, Paul meant a lot to you all in genetics, didn’t he?” In that simple statement spoken years later, I could see how Paul created such a bright atmosphere at work that, at the end of the day, there was enough left to bring home to our families.

Look closely at the slide show during the reception and you’ll see how lucky we all were to have Paul as a colleague. He was a marvelously good sport which just egged some of us on even further. Several of the slides are from a roast of Paul in 1993 sponsored by FOCUS. Kris May and I were fortunate to be hosts at that event. Here was our toast to Paul from that night:

Here’s to the man who’s compassionate and wise,
Who cares for his patients and friends.
Here’s to the man who unfailingly serves,
And here’s where the nice stuff ends!

Here’s to the man who goes for the pun,
No matter how silly or dumb.
Here’s to the man who bears all the signs
That New Jersey is where he is from.

Here’s to the man who’s stayed in control
In the face of this fun run amok.
We hope you’ll be able to forgive and forget
Or at least tell us when we should duck!


Debbie, Shana, Nathaniel, in the coming years ,  those of us who were fortunate to have Paul as a mentor, colleague, and friend will remember his intelligence and his enormous generosity, energy, and humor.

Paul Fernhoff, I will truly miss you.


Sallie Freeman, PhD
Professor Emeritus
Department of Human Genetics
Emory University