Paul Spangler was born in Portland, Oregon and grew up in an active military family. His father, Dr. Paul E. Spangler was a United States Navy Surgeon whose career kept Paul’s mother, Clara and three older sisters on the go, living at various Navy bases around the country.
The family’s first duty station was Honolulu, Hawaii where they lived on December 7, 1941 when Pearl Harbor was attacked. They remained there throughout the war.
Paul received a Presidential appointment to attended West Point as a 5th generation cadet, Class of 1959. He received a medical discharge from the Academy and transferred to the University of Wisconsin in Madison to complete his BS degree in Electrical Engineering.
Upon graduation, he was hired by Lockheed Missiles and Space in Sunnyvale, California at the “dawn” of the space race and not long after Sputnik had been put into orbit by the USSR. In July 2005, after almost 46 years of service, Paul retired as a Senior Staff Research Engineer from Lockheed-Martin.
In addition to being an avid sports fan, Paul is interested in hiking, camping, and model railroading. He currently serves as an active member of Furry Friends Pet Assisted Therapy Association and hopes to use the Foundation to help support programs and projects that enhance the lives of animals--companion animals in particular.
While Paul believes strongly that people have the responsibility to care for the planet’s animals, another goal is to enhance the lives of children by helping them grow up safely and develop a strong sense of self and purpose.