Paul Warren Wiggin of Newton (Waban) passed away peacefully Jan. 16 at the age of 95 in Bedford. Paul and his wife, Phyllis, who died in 2020, had four children, Margaret (a former Hopkinton resident), Emily, Susan and Tom, 11 grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.
Paul and Phyllis were longtime members of The Union Church in Waban, and later of First Parish Church in Weston.
Paul, who was born Jan. 4, 1929, was a 1953 graduate of Tufts University, where he was a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity, and also attended Oberlin College, Longy School of Music, Andover Newton Theological School and New England Conservatory of Music. Paul got his master’s in speech education at Emerson College in 1969. Paul was a paratrooper and chaplain’s assistant in the 82nd Airborne out of Fort Bragg in the early 1950s.
Paul and Phyllis married in 1955. Paul worked in real estate and life insurance, and taught in private schools and at Rhode Island College, Rhode Island School of Design and Rhode Island Urban Education Center.
Gifted with a beautiful tenor voice and love of singing, Paul was tenor soloist at many Greater Boston area churches, synagogues and choral ensembles, most notably the Boston Saengerfest Men’s Chorus.
In 1974, Paul founded MUSE Inc., a nonprofit providing a ministry of music for shut-in elders. The organization is celebrating its 50th anniversary in its continuing work across Eastern Massachusetts.
A celebration of life service for Paul and Phyllis will take place at First Parish Church, Weston, on May 26, 2024, at 2 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to MUSE Inc, at P.O. Box 693, Hopkinton, MA 01748.
Obituaries are submissions, typically from funeral homes, that are not subject to the same level of editorial oversight as the rest of the Hopkinton Independent. Obituaries may be edited for grammatical and factual mistakes and clarifications and shortened for space considerations.
Thanks, Hopkinton Independent! So grateful that my Dad lived a long, happy life of song and service! I moved to take care of my granddaughter fulltime, but am still part of Hopkinton life – What’s
Out There show on HCAM, tutoring in Hopkinton afternoons, and part of Faith Church, Scouts and Treblemakers Chorus, all in Hopkinton.