On February 12, 1949 in Port Arthur, TX, James Paul Mearlon was welcomed into this world as the first son of Herbert Anderson and Eddie Mae Williams-Mearlon. On March 9, 2016, he was called home by our gracious Heavenly Father reminding us all that we are here for a brief moment in time.
During the major portion of Paul’s 67 years in time, he resided in Port Arthur where he attended Lamar Elementary and Lincoln High School.  He graduated from Lincoln in the Class of 1967.  During his elementary and high school years, he amazed and impressed everyone with his eagerness to learn and excel.  At the age of eight, he surprised his family by entering a city-wide essay contest for students sponsored by the Port Arthur Police Department. He won his division of the contest with an essay on Saving the Songbird. This marked the genesis of his fascination with utilizing his God given talent of illuminating words, both verbally and in writing.  Paul also excelled in sports becoming a star athlete on Lincoln’s football team where he was dubbed “Black Diamond” for setting records in pass receptions and yardage achievements.
In 1967, after receiving an all-expenses-paid scholarship to the University of Wisconsin, Paul moved to Madison, WI.  He pursued his interest in writing and speaking with a major in Journalism. His football career ended abruptly during his junior year due to multiple knee injuries.  Paul remained in the Mid-West to continue his education and begin his career. He lived in Madison and other cities in Wisconsin including Milwaukee, and in Detroit, MI working in Public Utilities and entering the corporate arena as a Marketing Representative with IBM.  He also, lived and worked in Atlanta, GA in the security field where he played a role in organizing and coordinating the security program for the 1996 Summer Olympics.
The untimely ending of Paul’s athletic career motivated him to become engulfed in expressing himself through the written word and his hobby of fishing. Initially, he chose poetry and is the author of an anthology of approximately one hundred poems that he titled DIAMONOLOGY.  Paul is also the published author of two books, Crying Those Good Tears and Women Should Come with Instructions under the pen name of Spider Webb.
Paul developed an early belief in God and established a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He was baptized at an early age by Rev. H. B. McCarthy of Rock Island Baptist Church in Port Arthur.  His belief and relationship with God   sustained him through a long period of illness.
Paul was preceded in death by his father, Herbert Anderson Mearlon.  He leaves to cherish his loving memories, his mother, Eddie Mae Mearlon; his sisters, Margie Jean Hill, Mary Elizabeth Dees, Minnie Lee Melton and Sandra Faye Geter; his brothers, Gregory Anderson Mearlon and DaRon Kevin Mearlon; brother-in-law, James Joseph Melton; sister-in-law, Judith Spooner-Mearlon; a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, extended family members, and beloved friends who will remember him fondly.
Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 12, 2016 at the Gabriel Funeral Home Chapel with visitation beginning at 11:00 a.m. until the time of service under the direction of Gabriel Funeral Home, Inc.
The members of Paul’s family, gratefully request that in lieu of donations, contributions be made to the American Society of Hypertension (ASH), Inc.