“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” - Mark Twain

Paul H. Miete Jr., age 90, died peacefully alongside family on July 28, 2025 in Brunswick.

Born on Oct. 7, 1934, he was the son of Barbara (Reed) and Paul Miete Sr. He was raised in the town of Alna, where he attended the schoolhouse and graduated from Wiscasset High School.

His real education began at an early age, guided by his parents, grandfather, aunts and uncles, who carried on the ways of the Finnish lineage. His classrooms were back roads, saunas, horseshoe pits, bowling alleys and most importantly, the Maine woods.

Never merely a profession for him, being a logger was what made Paul Paul. When he wasn’t working in the woods, he took to them to hunt and fish, which often included multiple-mile walks to get to sport few had ever seen.

He met his wife Shirley (Joslyn) in the early ’50s when they impressed each other by dancing the jitterbug. Together they kept dancing and had five children. They spent time playing board and card games with family, traveling the U.S. and Canada, and seeing countless concerts, and in the mid-70s, they began to share their faith as Jehovah’s Witnesses. He was an elder at the Newcastle congregation and was valued for his quiet and practical wisdom.

Paul had many hobbies that he enjoyed in his long life, which included: stock car racing, playing numerous musical instruments, a love of listening to music (especially ’50s and ’60s country legends), hunting, fishing, camping, and telling his unpretentious jokes that often came from personal experience, to name a few. Most of all, he enjoyed people. He was proud to have old friends everywhere and make new ones anytime. The huge family he helped grow always kept him company. Every new baby born into the family had him as excited as the first. And when it was time for his last annual Florida trip, he stayed home to be here when his 23rd great-grandchild and first great-great-grandchild were to be born.

For Paul’s next chapter, he said he looks forward to “being with Shirley” and “getting another logging truck and getting back out in the woods.”

Paul was predeceased by his wife Shirley, his parents and one great-grandchild.

He is survived by his daughter Pam and her husband Steve Jones of Brunswick; son David Miete and his wife Bonnie of Wiscasset; daughter Vicky and her husband David Hunter of Brunswick; daughter Paula and her husband Jerry Scarborough of Boothbay; son Barry Miete and his wife Lynnette of Woolwich; 16 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild; his sister Ann Flanders of Wiscasset; and many nieces and nephews. He will be fondly missed by all.