Paul Mockett

Paul Mockett passed away peacefully on March 30, 2015 surrounded by his loving family.

Paul was born in San Francisco, Calif., but moved to Kimball at the age of 12. In Nebraska, he learned to run the family wheat farm along with his two siblings, Jane and John. The wheat farm created a family bond that has spanned generations and continues today.

Paul attended Reed College and went on to earn a PhD in physics from MIT. Paul moved to Seattle in 1972 to accept a research position in the physics department at the University of Washington and worked there until his retirement in 2005. His experiments in particle physics took him to accelerators in Brookhaven National Lab in New York, Fermilab in Illinois, the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center in California, the Superconducting Super Collider in Texas and CERN in Geneva, Switzerland.

Paul was a physicist and a farmer, but most importantly, he was a warm and caring husband and father. Nothing gave him greater pleasure than being with his family. His greatest joys were multiple family reunions spent in Hawaii and the Cascade mountains, culminating with a reunion celebrating his 50th wedding anniversary just a few months ago. He was a wonderful man with a rich life and will be missed.

He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Sara; his son, Paul Jr. (Barb) Mockett; his daughters, Alison (Bob) Wash, Emily (Phil) Hutcherson and Carolyn (Mark) Holtzen; his sister, Jane Quinette; and 12 grandchildren, Amelia, Alexa, Tyler, Kelsey, Brad, Mark, Caroline, Katy, Galen, Luke, Alia Jane and Alice.

A service was held to celebrate his life at 10 a.m. on Thursday, April 2, at St. Stephens Episcopal Church in Seattle.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Paul’s name can be made to the Pacific Northwest Ballet, Second Stage.

Sign Paul’s online guest book http://www.legacy.com.