Paul Munninghoff, 73, of Sunnyvale, Calif., died Feb. 3. Paul was born in Rhinelander Oct. 13, 1946, the son of long time area residents Paul and Marian Munninghoff. He attended local schools and graduated from Rhinelander High School in 1964.

He graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1969, ultimately becoming a B-52 pilot, flying many missions over Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. Later he continued flying B-52’s for the Strategic Air Command. He had a long and distinguished career in the Air Force and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel.

He then was employed by Lockheed Marietta in Virginia and later by Loral Space Systems in California and retired less than two years ago.

He would have celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary with his much-loved wife, Karen (Kutzler) this year. Paul and Karen were great travelers and patrons of the theatre and symphony, particularly the Shaw Festival in Niagara, Ontario and both the Washington DC and San Francisco symphony orchestras. Paul was an avid duck hunter and was hunting ducks right up to two weeks before his death.

He is survived by his wife, Karen of Dumfries, Va., and Sunnyvale, Calif.; his sister, Ann (Scott Eshelman) of Rhinelander; and many relatives, friends, colleagues and others who won’t soon forget the experience of being glared at from under his formidable eyebrows.

He was predeceased by his father, Paul, in 1985; his brother, Ivan, in 2005; and his mother, Marian, in 2007.

There will be no services, but anyone who might want to make a donation in Paul’s name might consider donating to any organization fighting for the cause nearest and dearest to Paul’s heart (despite his being a lifelong Republican), defeating Donald Trump in the 2020 election.