Paul Charles Camp Jr., 77, of Farmville, died February 24, 2016. He was born in Terre Haute, Indiana on October 2, 1938. He was the eldest son of Paul Charles Camp and Edelle Lemae (Jones) Camp. His parents preceded him in death as did his brother, Wayne, and his sisters, Hilda Cornell and Carol Holcomb.

Mr. Camp is survived by his four remaining siblings, Teresa Birkeland, and Marilyn, Larry, and Don Camp; four children, Thomas Charles Camp (Angela Robinson Camp), Elaine May Ogas (Vincente “Sonny” Ogas), Aimee Jeanette Camp, and David Allen Camp (Jill Tilbury Camp); and seven grandchildren, Thomas Allen, Trevor Charles, Deanna Jalynn, Caleb Dale, Jack Allen, Owen David and Brooklynn Martina Camp.

He was a jack-of-all-trades and a master of a few as well. He was a Master Carpenter and worked on several historic projects including Agecroft Hall in Richmond and Venable Hall at Hampden-Sydney. He worked on several dam projects out west including the Applegate Dam in Oregon.  He over-built furniture and everything else for that matter. He was a certified welder, expert concrete finisher, and an accomplished gardener. Mr. Camp was one of the greatest storytellers of our time. He killed a deer with a jack handle at the age of 73. He once put a Mercury V-6 motor in a Toyota pickup and built the headers for it using only an acetylene torch, a hacksaw, and brazing rod. He traded a car for a horse.

He served in the United States Navy. He once threw the family TV down a mountain and didn’t replace it for 12 years. He was a competitive diver, talented water skier, and could light matches with an open sight rifle at 20 paces. He was a volunteer forest firefighter on some of the big fires out west. He was skilled in the way a frontiersman was.

Mr. Camp lived off the land and the grid for many years of his life and it didn’t seem to bother him a bit. He restored and collected classic cars, old tools, and cast iron. He was never self-conscious and never questioned whether he was wrong about anything. He was a beekeeper and he was allergic to bees. He smoked a pipe and drank coffee all day, everyday. He built a house using mostly unskilled high school labor, ministered to the elderly, and played Santa Claus.

The truth is, Paul made a lasting impression on everyone he met. While it may not have always been a favorable impression, it was memorable.

Please tell someone your Paul Camp story or just make one up. As long as you tell it with conviction, he’d approve.