Paju, John Allen

John Allen Paju - age: 80
(January 28, 1941 to August 05, 2021 )
Resident of Ukiah, California

Visitation Information:
Services will be held Saturday, August 14, 2021 at 3:00pm at First Baptist Church.

Obituary:
John Allen Paju passed away Thursday, August 5, 2021 at home surrounded by family.
Born January 28, 1941 in Duluth, MN to Leila Davis and Edward Paju, John was the youngest of 6 siblings, brothers Jerry, Dave, Ed, and Will and sister Evangeline. At 17 he joined the Air Force where he became a medic. Following his military service he worked at the VA Clinic of Minneapolis and furthered his schooling attending St. Mary’s School of Anesthesia where he graduated as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. John married his first wife Janette and had two daughters, Jennifer and Jaylene. After graduation John joined the staff at Lutheran Medical Center but eventually resigned to pursue his own independent practice, travelling cross country providing temporary anesthesia coverage to clinics and hospitals. John was a pilot and flew himself to many of his assignments including his first visit to Ukiah. As he told it, his first impression flying over and into Ukiah was one that prompted him to move his family from the Midwest to California. Once relocated he provided on call anesthesia services to Mendocino and Lake Counties. Retiring from hospital work he started his companies Worldwide Medical Services, Bay Area Anesthesia, and Worldwide Travel providing thousands of physican and nursing services to clinics, hospitals, and government facilities nationwide for many years.
John and Anna Wong were married in 1983 and remained so until her death in 2017.
John was active in his community and his church. He attended First Baptist Church, served as President of the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship and witnessed weekly to adolescents at Juvenile Hall and Ukiah’s homeless population. Despite his declining health he continued to witness and wrote a book titled “The Unlikely Smuggler” which recounts his many adventures including smuggling Bibles into Russia in the 1970’s.
At the age of 78 John fell in love with friend Susan Bridwell. They married in February 2021. He is survived by his wife Susan, brothers Ed and Will, daughter Jaylene and son-in-law Brian Sisneros, daughter Jennifer Dalla Valle and grandchildren Logan Dalla Valle, Quincy Hayes, Sway Avery and Maizie Avery, sons Fred (Christine) Wong, and Richard (Lynda) Wong, daughters Judy Wong and Fran Zaft (Harry Salit), and grandsons Garrett Wong, Andrew Wong and Cameron Wong.