Paul Christian

Paul lived in a number of places beginning with his birth in Lake Charles, Louisiana, where his father worked for Halliburton.  His Dad's family were pioneers in West Texas and many of his cousins still remain in the Amarillo area.  When they would travel from LOUISIANA to visit, Paul (6 or 7 years old) would ask his Dad, "Please don't let Uncle Buster call me a coon-ass."  Halliburton transferred the family to several small towns in between, and they eventually ended up in Wichita Falls, Texas where Paul's love of tennis was formed.  He started tennis class in the 9th grade where he and his partner, Lillard, won the state championship three years later.  Then on to TCU where he was the captain and number one player for the TCU men's team.  In 1971 Paul won the Men's Singles and Doubles Texas Open titles.  Since 1968, this left-handed gentleman won 17 Texas titles!
Paul taught at Roy Miller H.S. in Corpus Christi where he coached two boys, Ronnie Flores and Dickie Fikes, who won the State High School Championship in their senior year.  Both went to college on tennis scholarships.
From Corpus, Paul became the Tennis Coach at the University of Houston, where the team won the first-ever Southwest Conference Team Championship, and earned five NCAA top-ten rankings.
Then a 25-year tenure at Westwood Country Club in Houston where his wife, Mickie, ran the tennis pro-shop. His daughter, Kathy, and two sons, Corey and Jeep had the luxury of enjoying the benefits of a country club...tennis, golf, olympic-sized pool, summer day camp, grill, etc.  Life was good!  For many years, Westwood provided tennis courts to host the Chuck Norris, Kick Drugs Out of America, charity tournament where Paul's family met Chuck Norris and President George Bush, who later became an occasional tennis partner with Paul.
Besides being left handed like his Dad, Corey followed in his father's foot steps, and is now a tennis pro in...you guessed it...Baton Rouge, LOUISIANA.  Jeep works for an environmental company, and is a competitive tennis player, and "belongs" to a country club.

Sweet daughter, Kathy, also enjoyed playing tennis in high school.  We lost Kathy three years ago to breast cancer.
Next to tennis, Paul's favorite sport was the quest for a good hunt...deer, elk, bear, duck, pheasant, dove.  It was a tradition that he shared with both of his sons as soon as they were able to hold a rifle or a shotgun.  The stories they could tell...Alaska, Argentina, Colorado, and all over South Texas!  Over the space of 45 years countless memories were made, and Paul's love for the hunt will continue through that same passion that he instilled in Corey and Jeep.  As, will his love for tennis.
His oldest grandson, Wells, shot his first deer last year when he was eight, and loves to experience the dark skies where the stars burn bright away from the city lights.  Granddaughter, Maggie, has spent a few nights on the deer lease and has a reputation as a "deer whisperer."  Youngest grandson, Nash, has yet to be determined since he's only three.
But, Paul's greatest love was for his family.  He and Mickie were a team at Westwood, and continued to be partners in the real estate arena.  Throughout it all, they remained each others best friend and traveled the globe.  Just a few of their many trips....Normandy, France; Italy; Switzerland; Hawaii; Alaska; Russia; Canada.
A dear friend, Bonnie Bey, shared a quote ... "Don't cry because their life on earth is over; smile because it happened."