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Memorial Keepers(2)
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Paul Henry DeLaney, Jr.
1941 - December 17th, 2021
1941 - December 17th, 2021
"And where does the power come from...to see the race to its end. From within." Eric Liddell, Chariots of Fire
Thank you all for your prayers, support, and friendship for Dad and our family. We will schedule a memorial service for him in 2022 and likely in the Spring when the weather warms up and to convene outside or in an appropriate venue. And we will return his remains to Rogersville, Tennessee where he was born to lay with his beloved parents, brother, and sister. His obituary is pasted below.
Please share any memories, pictures, or thoughts about Dad on this site through the Tribute link. We have also included two links below if you would like to make a donation in Dad's name to either Capital Care Health's hospice program that provided such caring support or to St. Albans Church that Mom and Dad attend.
We will update family and friends on future memorial plans through this site and directly. We greatly appreciate all your support and friendship, and we wish you all the best this holiday season.
- Please see the pictures of Dad in the memento section on this site and post any you would like
- Please see below Dad's obituary:
Paul H. DeLaney, Jr Paul Henry DeLaney, Jr. passed away peacefully Friday evening, December 17, 2021, while in hospice care. Paul was a man of faith, who will best be remembered for his positive nature and fierce determination. He valued his family above all else and was always there to help a friend, mentor a colleague, or serve those in need. Born in Rogersville, Tennessee, on May 21, 1941, Paul was raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, the oldest of his siblings: Gale Porter Kyle DeLaney and Katherine DeLaney Stewart. His parents were Paul and Alma DeLaney. Paul was married for forty-nine years to his loving wife, Marguerite Tokarz DeLaney. Paul was an Eagle Scout, outstanding scholar and athlete and was a 1963 graduate of Vanderbilt University, where he went on to earn a law degree in 1966. While at Vanderbilt, Paul played on the basketball team and was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. He had a great passion for athletics throughout his life and paid his way through law school coaching and refereeing youth sports and playing semi-pro basketball. After law school, Paul moved to Washington, DC. He served at the Department of Commerce and the White House as a senior official on international economics and trade issues, and then opened up his own international law practice. Over the next five decades, Paul built a successful legal practice with international cases that spanned six continents, including playing an instrumental role in the historic lifting of the Soviet Grain Embargo in 1981. Paul undertook extensive pro bono work, including his efforts on behalf of the Nature Conservancy to secure the passage of national conservation easement legislation to protect land and biodiversity across the country. He also served on the Board of Trustees for the Theodore Roosevelt Society and Trinity College of Washington. Paul was a member of St. Albans Church and of the Metropolitan Club of Washington, DC. Paul is survived by his wife; his two children: Paul Henry DeLaney III (wife Meg) and G. Porter DeLaney (wife Betsy); his nephew Stanley Porter Stewart; and his four grandchildren: Lucy, Charlotte, William, and Maia. He was affectionately known by his grandchildren as Gandalf and embodied many of the traits of the wizard from the Lord of the Rings who said: "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us." His ashes will be laid to rest alongside his family members at the Rogersville Presbytrian Church in Rogersville, TN. There will be a memorial service in Washington, DC at a later date. Memorial donations may be made to Capital Caring Health - Hospice Care and St. Albans Church, Washington, DC.
Published by The Washington Post on Dec. 21, 2021.
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Tributes
Share a favorite memory, send condolences, and honor Paul’s life with a heartfelt message.
Rich Dean
Dear Margie, Paul, Porter and families- it is with deep sadness that I write and am so sorry to hear about Paul’s death and for the grief that you all are feeling. It is difficult for me to summarize the impact Paul had on my life. I first heard about him when I was in high school from his mother, dear Mater, who was my Latin teacher. She so proudly recounted his adventures as an international lawyer in Washington and spoke so approvingly of his fiancée Margie. It was no accident that I decided to pursue a career in international law and attended Vanderbilt. Paul even helped me get my first job at Coudert Brothers in 1978. Throughout my career, over the last 40+ years, Paul was my trusted counselor, always interested in what I was doing and providing wonderful advice and encouragement. It was Paul who first told me that there was no limit to what I could accomplish if I didn’t care who got the credit and that certainly described much of his spectacular legal career. Paul was the most amazing advocate I have ever encountered and was always my “go-to” when I encountered problems I could not solve. Paul crafted solutions to problems we faced in Kazakhstan, Russia and other places that required marshaling support from various U.S. government agencies which he did with brilliant advocacy. We shared an interest in Russia. Despite his low profile, his skills were well known to Russian diplomats and Paul was proud that the Soviet Union attempted to retain him to represent them in negotiating the original US-Soviet Trade Agreement. He wisely declined. Paul so loved his family and much of the time we spent together at regular lunches at the Metropolitan Club involved him proudly recounting the successes of Paul and Porter. He was always interested in our family too and, decades after he helped me get my first job, he made an introduction for my son that led to his first job. Paul was a great man who accomplished many things for which he never received credit. I am very thankful for the great blessing he was to me and to my family and I will miss him greatly.
Daniel Bain
Occasionally, in life, we find exceptional people whose passion and abilities leave us in awe. Paul was one of these people. Like many geniuses, he was able to distill complexity and make the impossible happen as if by magic. How appropriate that his grandchildren saw him as Gandalf the wizard! I feel blessed to have been able to work with Paul and highly valued his friendship. I’m sure he is now in a better place, his bright light bending the universe his way. Love you and miss you, Paul.
Dale Moore
For the better part of four decades, Paul was a mentor, counselor and best of all, friend. Like many of us working in DC, he was the professor sharing his wisdom, expertise and thoughts on how to be a true public servant. My favorite Paul DeLaney rule -- "Put your best effort forward, set your ego aside, and strive to leave no footprints." My prayers to all of his family. Even though his footprints were light, he is missed all around the world.
Barry Boyer
Paul was the most impressive person I have known. We became friends when we were young lawyers in Washington during the 1970s. It was v\clear that he had remarkable strength, both physically and intellectually, and he used his strengths in pursuit of a vision. I would describe that vision as finding situations where public and private interests potentially intersect to produce a common good, and then using his talents to make that happen. He was one of the first to see the positive possibilities in globalization, which was a phenomenon just taking hold at that time. Paul realized that growing integration of national economies could make it more likely for great powers to work together rather than fighting hot or cold wars, and he positioned himself to help realize that potential. For Paul, the real work of achieving that vision had to take place out of the public eye. He had remarkable strategic sense for finding the key levers of power, understanding the incentives at play, and making the right move at the right time. All of these talents can be seen in the records he donated to the Reagan presidential library, documenting the key role Paul played in lifting the US embargo on grain exports to the Soviet Union. For all his professional accomplishments, Paul was a warm and generous person with broad-ranging interests. Protection of farms and rangelands was one of his ongoing interests, and he was a behind-the-scenes leader in the successful effort to write conservation easements into the tax code—a provision that has enabled landowners and conservation organizations to protect millions of acres of land from sprawl development. He was also a student of George Washington’s key role in making the new federal government into a unified nation-state. There was no better way to spend an evening than having a dinner with Paul at his favorite place, the Metropolitan Club, as the discussion played out until long after the dishes were cleared. Thank you for the memories, my friend. I will miss you.
Francis Hodsoll
My Mom and Dad often spoke fondly of Paul and Margie and the joy they brought to their lives! Now, Paul and my Dad are dancing, laughing, and debating policy.
Kazuhiko Togo
Deepest Condolences to Paul's family. I was a member of the Japanese Embassy in 2002 and 2003 and became Paul's friend. After I left the Embassy I regularly made a trip to Washington and Paul always invited me to the Metropolitan Club for a warm and informative breakfast. When I later stayed in Princeton I invited Paul to speak about the essence of negotiations in my class. He has always been, warm, friendly, stimulating, and attentive on many important issues in the world, such as agriculture, Russia, China Japan-US relations. I miss Paul very much and pray in Tokyo for Paul and his beloved family.
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