TOMBSTONE TUESDAY: John Ronald Paul (1898-1952)

TOMBSTONE TUESDAY: John Ronald Paul (1898-1952) was born in Port Lavaca, Texas on December 29, 1898 —the only son of John Adonoto and Aida (Tamagnini) Paul. His father’s journey to Calhoun County began far from Texas. He was born in 1854 on the island of Olib (sometimes recorded as Ulbo), Austria (present-day Croatia), and was baptized as Donatus Pulišić. At the age of nine, he immigrated to America to work in his uncle’s restaurant in Philadelphia. Around the age of nineteen, he became a seaman with the Morgan Steamship Line and was known throughout his life as “Captain.” In the early 1880s, he entered the restaurant business in Corpus Christi, Texas, and in 1892 married Aida, who had immigrated from her hometown in Italy only six months earlier. The couple welcomed a daughter, Josepa, in 1893. A few years later, they moved to Port Lavaca, where they put down roots and spent the remainder of their lives. Tragically, Josepa died at just five years old, only days after the birth of her brother, John. She was laid to rest in the Port Lavaca Cemetery.

Their son, John Ronald, thrived while growing up in Port Lavaca. At the age of eleven, while attending school, young John began working for the Wave Publishing Company as a “printer’s devil”—the nickname given to apprentices who often finished their shifts covered in black ink. The young apprentice worked diligently and saved his earnings, and on February 2, 1922, at the age of twenty-four, he married Viva Blanche Elodie Rose Marie Guidry, daughter of Port Lavaca Mayor Delfres E. Guidry and his wife Ethel (LaBauve), pioneer merchants of the city.

That same year, John purchased both the Port Lavaca Wave newspaper and the local movie theater during the era of silent films. John operated the projection room, while Viva’s younger sister, Stella Guidry, played live organ accompaniment during the screenings. John coined the newspaper’s enduring slogan, “For the right—as ceaseless as the waves,” and he and Viva published the paper weekly on Thursdays from their office in the 400 block of South Commerce Street. Viva operated the linotype machine, while John assembled the paper paragraph by paragraph, letter by letter, and line by line.

On March 16, 1940, the couple published a special 40-page Centennial and Golden Jubilee Edition of the Wave, commemorating 100 years of Port Lavaca and 50 years of the newspaper. The edition documented the history of Calhoun County and many of its prominent families and marked a high point in John’s career. Today, it remains a priceless snapshot of Calhoun County history.

John and Viva continued publishing the paper throughout World War II, often working almost entirely on their own as much of their staff had enlisted for the war. Even John’s daughters contributed to the war effort, performing as singers with the USO at Matagorda Island Air Force Base. During this time, John also wrote a regular column titled “Flowers for the Living,” highlighting the accomplishments of local citizens.

In 1945, a hurricane severely damaged the newspaper office and destroyed their printing press. Undeterred, John and Viva continued publishing by hand-setting the type and transporting framed pages to the Palacios Beacon for printing—a process they maintained until 1949. In June 1951, several leading businessmen in Port Lavaca joined to incorporate the Wave, with John as a major stockholder. New printing equipment was purchased, and publication returned to Port Lavaca, operating from an office on Guadalupe Street. John oversaw printing operations, while Viva served as women’s editor and office manager.

Beyond the newsroom, John was deeply engaged in civic life. He was a member of the Port Lavaca Rotary Club, the Port Lavaca Fire Department, the Our Lady of the Gulf Church choir, and the Chamber of Commerce. Through the columns of his newspaper, he supported nearly every effort aimed at the progress of Port Lavaca and Calhoun County, including the installation of city waterworks and sewer systems, construction of the seawall, development of the Hug-the-Coast Highway, and the Lavaca Bay Causeway, among many others.

John and Viva had five children, all born in Port Lavaca: Marion (1924), Nancy (1926), twins Jacque and John E. (1929), and Bob (1939). Longtime residents will remember the Port Lavaca Lumber and Hardware Store, owned and operated for many years by their son John E. “Johnny” Paul and located behind the present-day 303 Pub & Grub.

John Paul passed away on April 8, 1952, in a Galveston hospital following a brief illness. He is buried in the family plot at the Port Lavaca Cemetery alongside his parents, sister, and his beloved wife Viva, who passed away in 1982.

Shortly after John’s death, tragedy struck again when the family home—where John and Viva had raised their children—burned to the ground. The fire destroyed nearly every back issue of the Port Lavaca Wave they had published over their lifetimes. Fortunately, copies of the Golden Jubilee Edition survived. Their son Bob Paul, who still resides in Port Lavaca, graciously donated copies to both the Calhoun County Library and the County Museum.

For three decades, John R. Paul faithfully recorded the everyday triumphs, losses, and milestones of Calhoun County. From a boyhood printer’s devil to a respected publisher, his legacy lives on—not only in surviving pages of newsprint, but in the collective memory of a community whose story he helped preserve.

Compiled by Jody Weaver, with significant input from Bob Paul

Port Lavaca Sesquicentennial (1840–1990)