Funeral services for U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. (Retired) Edward S. Paro Jr., age 74, of Paducah will be at 11 a.m. today, June 4, 2009, at the Milner and Orr Funeral Home of Paducah with the Rev. Edward Bradley officiating. Burial with full military honors will follow in the Woodlawn Memorial Gardens.
Chief Paro died at 11:42 a.m. Tuesday, June 2, 2009, at the Western Baptist Hospital. Born in Paducah on September 9, 1934, Chief Paro enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1958. After basic training, his 30-year span of service took him to the Philippines and also to the Republic of Vietnam, where he served with the 460th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing and was selected Wing NCO of the Month in July 1966. He also served in Korea and later was selected as the 2nd Bomb Wing Senior NCO and First Sergeant of the Year in 1981. In 1982, he was selected as First Sergeant of the Year for both the 2nd Bomb Wing and the 19th Air Division. Again in 1983, he was selected as the 2nd Bomb Wing Senior NCO of the Year. Chief Paro's decorations include the Bronze Star with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Meritorious Service Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Air Force Commendation Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters and the Air Force Achievement Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster.
Chief Paro was also a graduate of Paducah Community College, where he was a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. He was a life member of the Air Force Sergeants Association and the Armed Force Top Enlisted Association. He was a member of the American Legion Post 31 and the VFW. Chief Paro was also a member of the Catholic Faith.
Chief Paro is survived by his wife, Bettye Mashburn Paro; four daughters, Anne Marie Fowler and husband Daniel of O'Fallon, Ill., Michele Ballagh and husband Gerry of Atlanta, Ga., Phyllis Ann Lopez Velazqez and husband Mario of Honolulu, Hawaii, and Joan Margaret Reyes and husband Ricardo of Corpus Christi, Texas; one son, Edward Joseph Paro and wife Sharon of Shreveport, La.; one stepson, Joseph Alan Foster of Paducah; one sister, Jeanne Paro Griffin of Paducah; 15 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; one niece; and one nephew.
His parents were Edward S. Paro and Martha Faughn Sproul Paro.
Expressions of sympathy may take the form of contributions to the American Cancer Society, 3140 Parisa Dr., Paducah, KY 42003.