Paul Selinger

Paul Edward Selinger, beloved husband and father, brother and uncle, cousin and friend, died on December 16, 2015 at the age of 79. Paul was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Julius H. Selinger and Goldye Rosen Selinger. When he was twelve, Paul, his parents and sister Helen joined the extended Selinger family, including uncles, aunts, and cousins, and migrated to Sleepy Hollow in Marin County. Living in the country nurtured his lifelong commitment to enjoying and preserving nature in Marin and Sonoma. In 1958, Paul completed his undergraduate studies at U.C. Berkeley with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, then followed with a Master of Fine Arts in sculpture from the San Francisco Art Institute. Shortly after completing his master's degree, he traveled to South Korea and began his lifelong love affair with Asia, living in Korea, then Hong Kong, for the next ten years. Paul returned to Asia, throughout his life, many times. Among his world travel adventures, he counted the privilege of working in the Forbidden City, Beijing, and his 2002 horseback trek into the remote mountains of Mongolia with local nomads and old China hands as his favorites. In the late 1960s, Paul taught sculpture at the University of Hong Kong and became an internationally recognized artist in 1969, when he created massive public sculpture installations and designed and built a playground filled with abstract sculptures -- believed to be the first of its kind in Southeast Asia -- in Hong Kong's Shek Lei resettlement estate. After returning to the U.S. he continued to work in metal, plastic, wood, and other media, producing small pieces for homes and gardens, and large pieces for public display. Always a dedicated father, Paul took a 17-year hiatus from sculpture to raise his family, returning to sculpture and writing in the late 1980s when he moved to Inverness. Stories and images from his years in Asia were never far out of mind, and Paul's story-telling genius resurfaced in three novels comprising The Dragon's Wake Trilogy, the saga of a politically active family in China and Korea from 1890 to the early 1960s. Other than being father to his two sons, authoring these books - bringing his characters to life, and hopefully inspiring a deeper understanding of Asian history and its influence on world power today - was his proudest achievement. Paul established his last studio in Petaluma in 1998, creating lyrical yet dynamic wall sculptures imbued with his love of nature, movement, poetry, and calligraphy. A man of Renaissance skills, Paul was an accomplished sculptor and writer, world traveler, adventurer and wry commentator on practically everything. What he had to say was always worth hearing; sometimes, as his friends remember, "…you just had to wait for it!" An avid student of history, inspired by Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, and Mark Hawkins, Paul was deeply concerned about social justice. He became a conscientious objector during the Korean War and a remained a lifelong pacifist. Also a conservationist, Paul was thrilled to live long enough to see one of his last efforts come to fruition when his local community formed the Paula Lane Action Network and successfully saved a pristine pastoral environment and wildlife corridor in West Petaluma, the Paula Lane Nature Preserve. Paul Selinger lived a good life, pursuing his dreams and goals with passion, creativity and tenacity. He was comfortable in his own skin, privately spiritual and slightly unconventional. He deeply loved his family and friends. As his health declined, he inspired his friends and family with his quiet grace and dignity. We will miss him, but our hearts are full of love and gratitude for the privilege of sharing his life. Paul is survived by his wife, Nan Moon, of Petaluma, CA, his two sons, Michael Benjamin Selinger (and wife Alicia), of Vienna, Austria, and Matthew Che Selinger (and wife Michelle), of San Francisco. He is also survived by his sister, Helen Selinger Pearlman, of San Jose; his first wife Ellie Choi Selinger of Novato; and many special friends and family members. Shortly after Paul passed away, two red-tail hawks circled above the hillside outside his favorite room, letting us know, as Paul always did, that "everything is going to be all right." The family invites his friends to join them to celebrate Paul's life on Sunday, May 15, 2016 at their home in Petaluma. Should you wish to honor Paul, please consider making a donation to the Paula Lane Action Network, P.O. Box 2903, Petaluma, CA 94953, The Michael J. Fox Foundation or the National Parkinson's Foundation.