Paulie Charleen Bontrager

Paulie Charleen Bontrager, beloved mother and friend, passed on Wednesday, November 18, after a sudden and brief struggle with a previously undiagnosed chronic lung ailment, at St. Anne’s Hospital in Seattle, Washington. She was 74.

Paulie was born on December 18, 1945, in McMechen, West Virginia, to Charles and Mildred Slie. Her father worked for Wheeling and Bethlehem Steel for over 40 years, and her mother worked in retail and for Wheeling Tent and Awning.

Paulie moved with her parents to Glen Dale in 1955, to a house built by her father and various uncles. She attended local public schools, graduating from Union High School in 1963. She went on to study English, Dance and Drama at Butler University, where she met her eventual first husband, Charles Bontrager, of Elkhart, Indiana.

The family moved to Springfield, Missouri, 1978. After a long and full career as a mother and educator, she returned to Glen Dale in 1998 to care for her parents (and her eventual second husband, Bill Wysocki, originally of Benwood and disabled after service in Vietnam) until their deaths in 2008. She then remained as a resident until her passing.

Earlier this year, she traveled to Seattle to explore a potential move and to assist her daughter Charlotte with her pet care business.

Paulie is survived by Charlotte, her son Charley, and many wonderful aunts, uncles, and cousins. After her mortal remains are composted, a more public memorial will be held, post-COVID, at a time to be announced.

My mother was a fierce and tireless devotee and protector of her children, and all other creatures who earned her love. She was a deep lover of all things vibrant and natural. Those so moved are encouraged to make a donation in her name to the National Resource Defense Council, or their favorite animal or conservation charity.