Howard Castor

The Rev. Howard Paul "Spike" Castor, of Des Moines, Wash., passed away on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013, at the age of 90. Born in rural upstate New York, Paul grew up on the family fruit farm. He joined the 101st Airborne during WWII and saw active duty in the Battle of the Bulge. Completing studies at Cornell, Birmingham Southern, Emory, and Hartford Seminary, Paul left for Malaysia in 1955 to serve as a missionary with the United Methodist Church. He met Lee Lee Tan there and married her in 1958. They served as missionaries together until returning to the U.S. in 1975 and settling in Tennessee. Paul pastored at several United Methodist Churches in the Chattanooga area, including First-Centenary, Hixson, Lake Vista and Red Bank. He and Lee Lee later moved to Washington state to be close to family. Paul is survived by his wife, Lee Lee; his children, David (Carolyn Fesmire), Mei (Daniel Bryant), and Daniel (Jennifer Jerde); his grandchildren, Alexandra, Zion, Emma, Nell and Gwen. A memorial service is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 14, 2013, at Wesley Homes, 815 S. 216th St., Des Moines, Wash. Memorial donations can be made to the Wesley Homes Foundation (http://www.wesleyhomes.org/donate).