We Remember
GREEN, Paul
—
Dr. Paul Green passed away on August 15, 2020 at the age of 69. He is survived by his daughters Caroline (Matt) and Sarah (Conrad); grandchildren Kade, Carter, Zayda and Zara. He also leaves behind his sisters Cath Green and Helen Harrison as well as his brother Bernie Green. He is predeceased by his loving wife, Pam, as well as his parents Bill and Edna.
Paul was born in Manchester, England in 1951. He was the eldest (and some say wisest) of four children. In 1982, he married the love of his life, Pam. Shortly after came the birth of their first daughter, Caroline. Their second daughter, Sarah, was born in 1986.
While on a work trip to Canada, he fell in love with the country and knew he wanted to move. He got a job at Alberta Hospital Edmonton before going on to start his private practice. Paul was a gifted neuropsychologist, scientist, innovator and inventor. He revolutionized the field of neuropsychology.
Paul loved to travel with his family and friends. He was a natural golfer, a talented painter (only discovered later in life), he loved being a pilot and most of all, he adored and cherished all four of his grandchildren. After losing Pam in 2016 to cancer, after 34 years of marriage, he decided to relocate to Kelowna, BC, to enjoy the warmer weather and longer golfing season. He valiantly battled metastatic prostate cancer for a year. He will be missed greatly by many, both personally and professionally, all over the world.
A Funeral Service will be held to honour Paul. The family would like to invite all who want to pay their respects to join by livestream on Saturday, August 22, 2020 at 1:00 pm. To view the Livestream click the link below.
If you wish to send a condolence, post photos or share a memory please scroll down the page to the area called “Condolences”.
Big part of my life. Great sense of humor, smart, driven to be successful with community service, profession, innovation, sport and family. A pleasure to know.
Caroline and Sarah,
My deepest sympathies to you and your families. Paul was a tour de force, and his absence in this world will be felt by many.
Paul was a dear friend for almost 50 years. He is the reason I became a neuropsychologist. We first met as undergraduate students in psychology at the University in South Wales in Cardiff in 1972. Even at that age, his intellectual zeal was on full display. (He never hesitated to challenge a professor on some point of contention during lectures, how audacious for a young man!). He became one of my closest friends that year. The many evenings we spent together at Neville St. discussing his ideas on schizophrenia and hemispheric laterality (he did most of the talking, naturally) formed the basis of my Master’s thesis a few years later.
We lost touch when I returned to the US. It wasn’t until several years later when we reconnected under the strangest of circumstances. Unbeknownst to me, Paul had emigrated to Canada to work with Dr. Flor-Henry in Edmonton. Around the same time, I too came to Canada for graduate school and stayed on. In 1989, I was living and working in Ottawa, but travelled to Edmonton to attend a conference in school psychology. That night, I went with a few colleagues to a Chinese restaurant, the kind that had communal seating of tables of 12-15. Partway through dinner, I heard a voice that I instantly recognized. Seated directly across the table was Paul, 16 years later and 4000 miles from when we last met.
This “coincidence” was not really a surprise to either of us. Paul was a lightning rod for premonitions and psychic aberrations that had started in his teens. Such events posed a rabbit hole for his acute scientific mind, as he was all about “the data”. Over time he just accepted his unusual proclivities rather than try to explain them. But it was just one of the things that made him truly special to me.
Those of us in psychology respect him as a supremely gifted thinker as well as a natural born inventor, resulting in the proliferation of psychological tests that bear his name. Of these, his work on malingering and performance validity has forced a paradigm shift in the field of neuropsychological assessment. He had boundless energy and could bend time to his will like no other. I never understood how he could produce a scientific journal article in the time it takes me to write an email. He accomplished more in a week, month or year that would require four lifetimes of the average person. And his achievements extend beyond his massive professional output. I never got to fly with him, and I’m not a golfer, but he often talked about his family and how lucky he was to have found his soulmate in Pam. He seemed to easily find inspiration and happiness in each phase of his life. But I thank god he couldn’t sing or he would never have been silent.
I am thankful to Paul for his friendship through all these years and the profound influence he has had on my life. I will miss our conversations very much. I like to think that he now has a new universe to explore with the same dedication and verve.
Sail high amongst the stars, mi amigo.
Janet Munson, Victoria BC
Caroline, Sarah and families I am so sorry for your loss! To loose both parents in such a short time is hard to fathom! I have many fond memories of having lunch with Paul when we both worked at AHE. He was a great story teller and had a keen sense of humour. We enjoyed many curry parties at your home where the hospitality was always warm and laughs plentiful. May your many fond memories comfort you and know that Pam and Fraser are taking good care of him. ❤️
We’re so sorry for your loss. Sending our thoughts and prayers to your family.
Angela and Matty
So sorry for your loss. Although I didn’t know Pau well, The time I spent with him and your family is fondly remembered.
We are so sorry to hear of your great loss. Our thoughts and our prayers are with you and all the family…..
Pam & Paul, together again, may they RIP in Eternity. Much love Carol & Mike xxx
We knew Paul and Pam since 1977 when we shared a slightly mad house filled with exotic people. We subsequently shared some memorable holidays and visits to beautiful Canada and its natural wonders. Paul was always entertaining and stimulating and often provocative – Pam’s smile and ‘look’ eloquently commenting on some of his statements. He was a force of nature and a brave man and we will miss him.
Rest in peace Paul (and Pam) xx .
Paul was a charming and personable man. He was always gracious to my students at conferences regaling them with stories. The world was a more interesting place with him in it.
“Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal”. Embrace those cherished memories, having many fond reflections of the treasured times you spent together, let them fill your mind, warm your heart and lead you through. With much love and heartfelt hugs Gill & Graham Moar xxx
A great loss for his family, to the neuropsychology world, and to me personally. Supportive in our time of need professionally. Editt and I miss him already. A great friend.
Dr. Green was a giant in the field of Neuropsychology. I was honored to be his friend. He was a clear intellect, a prodigious researcher and, to those of us who knew him, could pace a joke that would leave one breathless with laughter. Paul loved truth and devoted his life to understanding the meaning and truth of human behavior. If there is a gate to heaven, I have no doubt that Dr. Paul Green is the newest appointee, scoring the exam for each applicant. RIP Paul. You are loved and will be remembered forever.
Here’s to you, mate!
Roger
Last week we lost our friend Paul, today we say goodbye. Paul and Pam were friends since we moved to Kelowna in 2010. They were here on holidays, we met Paul on the golf course, instantly friends. We booked golf for Paul every time he visited Kelowna. After Pam passed away, he moved here and we golfed, met for coffee, met for dinner and hockey games, did some travelling together. He was a best friend and we will miss him.
So sorry for your loss Cath, Helen, Bernard, Caroline, Sarah and your families. Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal. Rest in peace Paul. Love Marion & Andy x
I have known Paul for over 30 years, He has been a mentor, supervisor, critic, collaborator, colleague and most importantly a very close friend. We worked together on many projects and his enthusiasm, creative genius and imagination were astonishing. He was truly a renaissance man in all its definition. He has advanced the field of neuropsychology beyond belief and shattered some fossilized assumptions about the nature of effort and its impact on test scores. His energy, commitment, integrity and ethicality were at the forefront of his scientific endeavor to improve the state of neuropsychology. I am extremely blessed to have had the opportunity to work with Paul and to be considered a close friend. Paul, your new journey begins and hopefully you will re-unite with Pam.. RIP and thank you for all you did in your life., I will miss you my friend.
Lloyd Flaro
May his memory be a blessing to those who knew him, learned from him, and will continue to benefit from his contributions. Blessings, Paul.
A Renaissance man, so very generous with his time and many talents. We will miss him, but his groundbreaking work in neuropsychology will live on. Rest in Peace,
Caroline , Sarah and family ,, sending love and hugs from Manchester . What a beautiful service , Very moving and proves what an intelligent , fun loving , family man and great friend to all that Paul was and so well loved . Rest in Peace Paul . Be certain of this , he lives in you all and will walk by your side wherever you may be . God bless 😘😘
My wife Anne and I are sorry to hear of Paul’s passing. We enjoyed his company and generosity the few times we were able to share a meal and visit. He was a kind man.
Paul was a wonderful friend, scholar, and colleague. He was so loving and generous with his time. After meeting some of my graduate students at NAN, he volunteered to teach them about his tests that we were using via distance learning .He loved to take over the computer screen. The students were thrilled and it was the highlight of their year. He is a neuropsych angel in heaven for sure! Much love!
Dear Green family,
Truly blessed to have grown up on the same road ( Ranelagh ) as the Green family. Paul had a special character with wonderful charm, charisma and sense of humor.
Deepest sympathy to all the family.
Claire McKenna ( Née Rimmer )
We have just watched the moving service in memory of Paul and felt it captured the many aspects of his life so well.
We shared a flat with Paul and Bernie in the 1970’s and kept in touch with Paul and Pam, visiting them in Edmonton when, Caroline and Sarah, you were very young. Paul’s energy and enthusiasm for everything he was interested in knew no bounds and could be be exciting. if also sometimes exhausting. Its fair to say that our views may have differed on quite a few things , but we have many good memories of times together. We are sharing the photograph of Paul, Pam, Bernie, Ian and Wendy and other friends who shared the house in Woodstock Road as a reminder of the good times we had when younger and the way we were.
Caroline and Sarah and families, so sorry to hear of Paul’s passing. Our paths crossed through our work over many years. He has left a lasting legacy for the neuropsychology field. I have fond memories of our golf trip to Kelowna where we shared stories of comedians from our mutual origins in the UK, in particular Monty Python. Farewell Centurion.
Paul was unique. The Pendlebury Mountaineer or the Pendlebury Cowboy. Choose your epithet. From when I first met him as an awkward, unstable and difficult teen (weren’t we all!) through a lifetime’s friendship I never met anyone else so singleminded in the pursuit of a goal once his mind was made up. The mountains he climbed were both mental and physical. From Ranelagh Road to Kolowna. Such distances travelled and heights reached. And then there is Paul the Midnight Cowboy. I last saw Paul just over a year ago in London when he had the first symptoms of his condition. A leaky catheter held no restrictions for him. Changing trousers at Euston Station after a French Bistro lunch washed down with beer and brandy, we laughed at our unwitting re-enactment of the film Midnight Cowboy. Paul was Ratso Rizzo to my Joe Buck. Friday rush hour. I finally managed to bundle him onto a packed train to go and see Bernie in Brum. Apparently, he played a hefty round of golf the next day and following that, flew to Amsterdam to deliver an academic paper. Phew.
I will miss him.
My condolences to the family, Though only met Paul once, I truly enjoyed the visit, conversation, and seeing his wonderful paintings. I’m sure he’ll be dearly missed by all his lived ones, as witnessed the special bond between himself and his daughter Caroline & his Grandson who wanted to sleep in the house with his dear grandfather towards the end, was very moved by this gesture.
Best
I was very sad to hear the news of Paul’s passing. I was one of the group of friends who shared a house with Paul in Moseley, Birmingham (UK) in the late 1970s. We all got on extremely well and had some terrific times. Paul was always a larger than life character who always made an impact when he entered the room. I shall always remember his energy, intelligence and sense of humour.; and send my sincere condolences to all the family. (I shall hopefully upload a photo of Paul and Pam taken at the fancy dress party we had for them in Woodstock Road, shortly before they left for their new life in Canada.)
Paul is immortalized through his family, and trailblazing intellectual accomplishments..
Paul’s love of the sky reminded me of Antoine de Saint-Exupery. This quote is particularly salient: “What am I if I am not a participant? In order to be, I must participate.” Paul didn’t just participate, he ate life.
Per audacia ad astra!
God bless you Paul,
Deon
My condolences to those who loved him. He contributed a great deal to the field of clinical neuropsychology. May he rest in peace.
I lost touch with Paul more years ago than I care to remember, and only learned about his tragic death when I finally decided to try and find him again. Regrets don’t do much good but I bitterly regret not trying sooner. He was a good bloke, and good fun – but a lousy gambler when we tried to make our fortunes in the 1970s at a Birmingham casino (where the sandwiches were free). My condolences to all who loved him.
I worked with Paul for 2 years when I joined All Saint’s hospital in Birmingham in 1979 where Pam worked as the department secretary. He was a gifted and ebullient psychologist who was destined to make a distinguished contribution to psychosis research when he discovered neuropsychology and later moved to Canada. He lived nearby in Bearwood. I visited him and Pam once on 1984 giving a lecture. I lost touch with him and Pam but was aware of the distinguished contribution he made to neuropsychology ( no surprise to me!) I learned only recently of his passing last year and of Pam’s; very sad indeed. He was one of life’s characters and I can see how he affected the life of so many people around him.
I met Paul about 2 years ago in Kelowna, I only got the pleasure of speaking with him once but it was a conversation I think about quite often. He told me some beautiful, and scary stories about his life and his work. It was like 2 hours melted away in no time at all. A very kind man to sit around and talk with a 21 year old he has just met, I saw this page trying to get ahold of him. May you rest in peace Paul. I hope that luxury cruise was a blast!
Dear Green Family,
It is only now that I found out about your father’s passing. I’m so very sorry. Your father was a real treasure. He took me and my team under his wing and mentored us around his tests. He single handedly transformed our practice. We are forever in his debt. He will be sorely missed in the neuropsychology world.
Good wishes and continuing sympathies. I have many fond memories of Paul, who was a strong voice for accuracy in assessment. Especially in the early days, he frequently defended the honor of our field by fending off the early critics of validity assessment. He was multi-talented, a fact which I get to see daily when I view one of his paintings as I walk into my office.; it is an exquisite piece of work. Thank you for continuing his legacy by making available these quality assessment tools. Best wishes, Mike Chafetz