Obituary: Paul Dubois

• Deceased's name:
• Age: 69
• Date: Feb. 19, 2012

died peacefully at the Mission Skilled Nursing & Subacute Center in Santa Clara Feb. 19 at 4:20 p.m. after a courageous battle with stage-4 esophageal cancer, which had metastasized throughout his body.

After undergoing chemotherapy and radiation, the tumor was effectively removed from the esophagus, but unfortunately the cancer had spread rapidly into his brain.

Although realizing in the end that his life was compromised, he remained hopeful and optimistic. He breathed his last breath cradled in his beloved wife's arms.

He was born Dec. 23, 1942 in Oakland, the only child of Paul A. Dubois IV and Mary Jane Johnson Dubois.

Paul's birth father was in the Marine Corp. and died during WWII when Paul was only 2. His mother remarried Winston King, a Chief Petty Officer in the Navy at the time. Mr. King was a former chamber manager of Los Gatos and a member of the Los Gatos Lions Club.

Because of naval orders, the family moved to Oahu, Hawaii where Paul was raised.

Upon returning to the mainland at age 17, Paul graduated from Castro Valley High School. He attended San Jose State University where he earned a bachelor's degree in business administration.

Paul met his wife Mary Tomasi-Dubois in Newport Beach at the Newporter Inn. Paul was taking a respite between his teaching classes at California Politechnic University and Mary was vacationing with a girlfriend. They danced and a romance blossomed; the two were married at Hakone Gardens in Saratoga in 1979.

Paul served as a police officer for the Newark Police Department for 12 years. When he left, he had ascended to the rank of sergeant and acting lieutenant.

He retired from law enforcement in 1973 and joined an Oakland security consulting firm. In 1979, he and Mary formed their own business which they called Tomasi-Dubois & Associates, a security consulting engineering firm that designs large-scale integrated security systems, whose clients have included AT&T, Adobe, HP, NASA and E*Trade.

Paul loved travel, movies, good books and, of course, community service. He and Mary moved to Los Gatos in 1982 where he served on numerous boards and commissions. He was chair of the Los Gatos Community Services Commission and later chair of the Los Gatos Planning Commission where he also served on the Hillside ordinance committee. He was president of the Kiwanis Club of West Metro, San Jose and became Lieutenant Governor of Division 12 while a member of the Los Gatos Kiwanis Club. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Los Gatos Community Foundation and served as its president for two terms.

He also served on Los Gatos’ A Place for Teens board and was the creator of the Venue-A-Thon to raise money for the teen center. He belonged to the professional organization American Society of Industrial Security and served as chairman of the Bay Area chapter as well as the organization's assistant regional vice president.

, helping to raise money to refurbish the historical piece. The foundation’s goal was to determine an appropriate public space and edifice on which to place the cupola for the community to enjoy. The result was the Lyndon Bandstand that sits in Oak Meadow Park (the roofline is similar to the original Carriage House). The Foundation didn’t want to use public funds to build the project and Paul’s idea of selling commemorative bricks raised enough money to accomplish that goal. That, coupled with in-kind donations from an architect as well as local construction companies, helped complete the project. Once completed the bandstand was dedicated to the town and sold to it for $1.

Combined, the couple had three children, Paul’s son, Paul A. Dubois VI, and daughter Karen Dubois Guthrie, and Mary’s son Michael Cignetti. Paul also leaves behind eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, and is also survived by his aunt Lorraine Melino, of Castro Valley, and cousin Mark Melino, of Oregon.

A celebration of his life will be held 1-4 p.m., Saturday, March 31, at Calvary Church, 16330 Los Gatos Blvd., with a reception immediately following.

Paul's ashes will be scattered in Oahu's Waikiki Beach next year when his family plans to travel there to honor his wishes.