Paul Alexander Cousins
July 27,1946 - July 5, 2024
Obituary
Lt. Col. Paul Alexander Cousins, age 77, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma,
entered eternity on July 5th in Oklahoma City. Paul was born on July
27th, 1946, to George Forbes Cousins and Martha Louise Cousins (VanWinkle)
in Greenbush Township, Illinois. Paul grew up in Bloomington, IN,
and graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1968 as a pilot, achieving
his BS as well as going on to further his education with two masters
degrees while serving in United States Air Force. He married Becky
Nell Rollins from his hometown of Bloomington, IN, where they attended
grade school together. They were married on February 10th, 1973, while
he was on leave from the Vietnam War where he served as a tanker pilot.
They had two children, Emily and Andrew, and enjoyed many adventures
around the world together as Paul proudly served in the USAF for 24
years. After retiring from the USAF as an AWACS pilot, he began his
second career as a computer programmer for the Defense Information
Systems Agency for the Department of Defense at Tinker AFB until his
second retirement in 2014. After retiring from DISA, Paul entered
his very enjoyable third career as a professional bean counter for
his son Andrews landscape architectural company Valley Quest Design,
after developing the companys accounting system, where he was employed
as a contractor until the time of his death. He was an exceptionally
productive person throughout his life, but the job he took most seriously
was taking care of his family, once quoting I decided if I was going
to be a family man, I was going to do it right. In his youngest years,
he could be found thoroughly enjoying the delights of childhood with
his brother Gary and sister Linda. In his youthful years, he enjoyed
playing sports, snow skiing, exploring the outdoors, backpacking,
traveling, fishing, boating, working with stained glass, working on
endless projects around the house, and organizing July 4th parades
in his neighborhood. Paul was blessed with an analytical/mechanical
mind like his dad George and was known to be able to build or repair
just about anything from homemade mouse traps to sprinkler systems
to his first personal computer. His loved ones are comforted at this
time by his decision to accept Christ as his savior and look forward
to being reunited with him again. He is survived by his wife Becky
Nell Cousins (Rollins) of 51 years; his daughter Emily Lynn Swafford
and son-in-law David Kyle Swafford; his son Andrew Alexander Cousins
and daughter-in-law Susan Catherine Cousins (Beno); his five grandchildren
Sydney, Korbyn, David Stone Swafford & Presley and Logan Cousins;
sister Linda Wehr; nephew Paul Wehr; niece Lori Shindo; niece Elizabeth
Mulder as well as great nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death
by his parents George and Martha Cousins, his brother Gary Cousins,
and his nephew Brian Cousins
Lt. Col. Cousins will be honorably laid to rest at the United States
Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO, on November 25th, 2024,
at 1100, surrounded by family.
Memorials or donations may be made to the United States Air Force
Academy at: https://give.usafa.org/falcon-funder
or Daedalians (which Paul was an active member of) supporting interest
in aviation among young people considering a military flying career
at: https://www.daedalians.org/donate/
Wow, what a loss.
At the end of a long, long Day #1, I finally made it to my room, drug
my duffle bags into the room and sat down on the edge of my new bed
and looked across the room at my new, my first AFA roommate's…Paul
Cousins.
He looked at me and I looked at him… and to this day we don’t
know for sure which of us said it first: “I think I’ve made
a terrible mistake!!!”
We both broke into laughter, stood up and hugged each other, told
who we were and where we came from.
CS-24, Paul and Neal, ready for the big experiment… we think!!!
What a great, solid guy. We all miss you. See you soon! Neal
