Paul Collins Maurer, 52, a career swim coach and junior high school teacher, of Turlock, CA, died on April 21, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona.  He died of complications of a brain tumor, glioblastoma multiform.  Paul is survived by his father, John I. Maurer of Angels Camp, a retired 25-year Turlock psychiatrist; two sisters, Karry Walker of Oakland, CA and Kassie Maurer of Kalamazoo, MI and her two sons, Rudy Fierro and Max Fierro of Oakland.  He is also survived by his Maurer clan, Aunt Mary O’Hara and cousins Katie O’Hara and Stacy Story and family in Colorado, his Collins clan, Uncle Tom Collins, cousin Ned, and cousins Steve Gilbert, Laurie Belval, Jenny Forney and Mike Gilbert and their families, mostly in Arizona.  He is preceded in death by his late mother, Linda Collins Maurer, a prominent amateur golfer in Northern California.  He was also preceded in death by his grandparents, Marion and Chrissie Collins, who founded the Medic Alert Foundation, and his grandparents, Kathryn and Irving J. Maurer. Paul was born in Palo Alto, CA on May 25,1965.  He graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in History.  He later earned his master’s degree in History from Stanislaus State.  He taught History, Economics, Language Arts, and Science to junior high school students in California and Arizona. The most concentrated efforts of his career were in coaching young swimmers in age group competition.  He coached the Turlock Aquatic Club for about twenty years as he was well-known and loved. 

After Paul left coaching, he earned his teaching credential and taught in California bay area junior high schools and, most recently, in Phoenix, for two years.  After his diagnosis and treatment, Paul was preparing to return from Phoenix to the Turlock area to live and teach.  Paul was an avid outdoorsman who loved camping, hiking, golf, water polo, and especially swimming.  As a child, he swam competitively for Turlock Aquatic Club where he still holds a few age group records. Paul enjoyed crossword puzzles, listening to history documentaries on his headphones, and creating history power point presentations for his history teacher friends. Paul especially enjoyed playing Bridge with his friends.  He was known for some heated rounds across the card table, but all in the name of a good contest! Paul in his role as uncle, was known as UnPa or UP, and enjoyed playing chess and Catchphrase, and building and launching model rockets with his nephews. 

Paul’s battled with fierce headaches and eventually his cancer, was diagnosed in early January 2018.  He endured two major surgeries along with radiation and chemotherapy.  He tolerated his treatments and rehabilitation with the patience of no other.  At his bedside before he passed were his father, his sisters Kassie and Karry, and his girlfriend, Susan Carpenter.  He had expressed to the family that despite the tumor and surgery, he was the happiest he had been in years. Paul loved Yosemite so much that his family is planning a gathering there this summer where his ashes will be spread as this was the area he loved so much. 

The family asks that in lieu of flowers, to make donations to The Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, AZ at www.supportbarrow.org/donate, or to the Medic-Alert Foundation in Turlock, CA at www.medicalert.org/donate.