My grandfather was able to accomplish a lot in his lifetime and nothing stopped him from going after what he wanted. When his mind was set on something, he made it happen, whether that was marrying the girl of his dreams or teaching himself how to walk. Here are 10 interesting things that you might not know about Paul Leimkuehler or his life.
1. Paul was a speed skater and met his wife Kay at an ice skating rink.
2. He was a cyclist and competed in the 1936 U.S. Olympic Cycling Trials as a teenager. He also won the Ohio State Cycling Championship in 1936.
3. The last time he saw his wife, before he became an amputee, was on New Year’s Eve 1944 before he boarded the Queen Mary.
4. After his leg was wounded in WWII, he told the surgeon, “I think you ought to take it off.”
5. Paul founded PEL Supply, (an acronym derived from his initials), which was the second company he started that provided quality prefabricated parts to other orthotic and prosthetic businesses.
6. The first time he skied he was 38 years old and it was on one leg.
7. He purposely didn’t patent the outrigger ski device he designed, so other amputees could copy it.
8. Paul convinced Head Ski Company to provide equipment to amputees to build their own sets of outrigger poles and eagerly shared his drawings and measurements with all who requested them.
9. He co-founded 3 Track Skiers of Ohio with Bert Fisher.
10. Paul is featured in the books Men of Company K that chronicles his experiences before and after the war and Midwest Skiing: A Glance Back.
