Paul Henderson Adriance

Paul Henderson Adriance was born January 26, 1930 in Placerville, Calif. to George and Neva Adriance.

As a child, Paul was plagued by a variety of physical illnesses and began to present an emotional fragility. He often stayed at home, propped up in bet with his version of "light" reading — the King James Bible, encyclopedias and poetry books. His regular school attendance commenced in the seventh grade.

High school days were wonderfully full of appearances in school plays and work on the school newspaper. His best subjects were history, political science, English and literature. He excelled in all academic areas.

When Paul continued his education at Eastern Washington University, his schooling was interrupted by his first complete nervous breakdown and a brief hospitalization at Medical Lake. With the help of anti-depressants, he rallied and graduated in 1954. After graduation, Paul returned to Moses Lake to live with his parents, George and Neva.

For several years, he worked for a Moses Lake lawyer, Lloyd Cunningham, who recognized Paul's brilliance and put it to good use. Paul did legal research, helped brief cases and figured income taxes for Lloyd's clients. Mr. Cunningham also recognized Paul's ups and downs. If he was having a bad day, Paul stayed home. On good days, he proved to be a valuable employee.

When his mentor died suddenly in a car accident, Paul retreated to his home. He did the grocery shopping, cooked, cleaned and helped make a home as his parents worked. Neva taught and George managed the sewage disposal plant in Moses Lake.

It was during this time that he began to give voice to his concerns for his country and his love of politics. The Vietnam War, where young men his age were dying half a world away, increased Paul's sense of powerlessness. He always considered himself a true patriot and saw, at least to him, that his beloved country was making a terrible mistake. He began what would become a life avocation, writing letters. The letters focused not only on U.S. foreign policy, but on the plight of the American Indian and black Americans.

The Columbia Basin Herald published many of his letters over a period of 30 years. Paul's politics veered from the left and sharply to the right. More and more religion, personal responsibility and adherence to literal Biblical teachings permeated his discourse. Presidents, Congress members and state officials were not spared.

If his letters, all carefully typed or written on small pieces of paper, could be compiled and bound, the result could easily be the size of a Russian novel.

Paul also cared for an ever-increasing family of cats. To outsiders, these animals were wild, feral beasts and were rarely friendly. To Paul, these were God's creatures for whom he was responsible.

Occasionally, his quiet, predictable world was racked by visits from his sisters and their ever-increasing brood of bouncy nieces and nephews. Fortunately for his peace and quiet, both sisters lived in Oregon and California and these visits were short and infrequent. Although he dearly loved the new life presented by nieces and nephews, seven in all, Paul found being a "hands on" uncle a bit overwhelming. Writing cards and letters and remembering birthdays proved a simpler task.

The unpredictable darkness of Paul's mental illness never lessened, but was held in check by medication and his parents, especially his mother. She never ceased to hope for a cure for her brilliant son. In turn, as his parents aged, Paul increasingly took over their care, driving them to doctor's appointments and watching over their medication and finances.

After the death of his mother in 1977, he lost much of his love and support. He was placed under Grant Mental Healthcare, where he was assigned to ray Etchevera. They played chess together and attended Bible study. He also joined Horizon House where his organizational skills were put to good use, where he edited the newspaper.

After Ray's death, Norma Whitney became Paul's caseworker and was available 24/7. Until his death, she supervised all of his activities, paying careful attention to his finances, health and living situation. When Paul's beloved cat, Purry, needed cat food or a visit to the vet, it was Norma who took care of it.

If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a small town to care for a damaged individual. This is how Paul was cared for: from Grant Mental Healthcare, kind cousins and friends of the Presbyterian Church, to the food servers at Perkin's Restaurant who were well aware of his love for sticky buns (with applesauce) and other friends who gave Paul the dignity he deserved.

Thursday, June 24, was very warm and sunny in Moses Lake. We do not know if he wore his blue cap when he set out for one of his long walks through the streets of Moses Lake, streets so familiar to him. He did not carry a water bottle and did not stop for any water during his travels. That evening, Paul suffered a heat stroke and was rushed to the hospital. On Monday it was expected that he would be released in a day. On Tuesday, the nurse said "he's wearing out." He died Tuesday evening.

Ecclesiastes, Chapter Three, reads in part: "To everything there is a season… A time to be born and a time to die… a time to weep and time to laugh; a time to mourn." This was Paul's time. He is at peace now.

He is survived by: two sisters, Cindy Adriance Mancillas of San Francisco, Calif. and Dorie Marsh of Forest Grove, Ore.; five cousins, Carol Schlesinger, Pauline Swanson, John Dills, David Dills and Henderson Dills; nephews, Peter Nicholas, Joseph Mancillas and John Marsh; and three nieces, Paula Acilea, Grayson Little and Diana Johnstun.