Paul Withington Gertz

Beaumont trial lawyer Paul Withington Gertz exhausted his final appeal on October 21, 2017; he was 67 years old. Paul was a beloved advocate, partner, husband, father, and friend. He will be remembered for his kindness, generosity, leadership, sense of humor, and infectious laugh.

Born in Longview, Texas August 11, 1950, to Harriett and Stanley Gertz, Paul graduated from Pine Tree High School. As a boy, he was the “mascot” for his father’s National Guard Unit. He loved horses and water-skiing on Lake of the Pines with his parents and his sister Susan.

Paul graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University in 1972. In 1973, Paul married Carol Petty and together they had four children: Ryan, Jeanie, Laura, and Andy. Firm believers in the value of education, Paul and Carol put the boys through the University of Texas at Austin and the girls through Texas A&M University.

Paul completed law school at Southern Methodist University in 1975. During his final year, he was granted membership in the Order of the Coif – an exclusive legal scholastic society for graduates at the top of their class. Upon graduation, Paul moved to Beaumont, Texas to work with the prestigious Orgain, Bell, & Tucker Law Firm. As a young lawyer, Paul tried hundreds of cases ranging from property disputes and easements to personal injury and contract disputes. After only five years, he made partner at O,B,&T. One federal judge wrote a kind letter to the managing partner of the firm in the wake of a week long trial describing Paul as a “young John Tucker.”

In 1994, Paul left O,B,&T and partnered with Larry Germer, to begin Germer & Gertz, L.L.P. Across the next decade, the firm grew from four lawyers to over one hundred – in Austin, Beaumont, and Houston. Ten years later, he “retired” to Colorado. But in classic Gertzian fashion, he couldn’t cease being an advocate and, instead, began a new firm in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.

This was a fortuitous move, because he met his beloved wife Karen Bush – a Colorado native – through his practice. They married in 2007 and spent the next ten years happily traveling the world together. They loved going on cruises, seeing historical sights, sitting on the beach in Hawaii, and playing golf together. In their down time, they enjoyed watching crime dramas in their matching recliners, with their dogs at their feet. Paul was an adoring step-father to his daughter, Dayle Duran. He and Karen put Dayle through the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA.

In 2013, Paul convinced Karen to leave their home in the Aspen valley and return to Beaumont so that he could practice law with his sons Ryan and Andy. He spent the past four years running the civil practice of the Gertz Law Firm – coming to work everyday to fight for people who had been injured or wronged – being the capable and compelling advocate he had always been.

Paul loved history. He loved Abraham Lincoln. His favorite books were history books and crime novels. He loved to play golf with Karen, enjoyed painting, and working in his shop making furniture or molding items out of clay.

His children’s memories include family trips all over the country, and nearly every year, each kid went on a trip with Dad by themselves. Paul took Andy camping in Alaska and Montana. He brought Ryan to San Francisco, and took him fishing and camping in Minnesota. Laura remembers a special trip to San Francisco. He took Jeanie to New York City and Washington, D.C.. While Laura and Jeanie were in college, he took them on a trip to Puerto Rico. Paul took Dayle to Mexico and Hawaii where they snorkeled and swam with sea turtles.

Paul was preceded in death by his parents Stanley Withington Gertz and Harriett Hill Gertz. He is survived by his loving wife Karen Bush Gertz and their daughter Dayle Duran, his sister Susan Gertz Harris, his children Ryan Withington and Stephanie Gertz, Vivek and Jeanie Gertz Mathew, Tony and Laura Gertz Hernandez, Andrew Paul and Catherine Gertz, his 15 grandchildren: Amelia, Caroline, Max, Julianna, Noah, Andrew, Matthew, Kalyani, Sam, Hannah, Eleanor, Charlie, Leena, Dorothy, and Benjamin.

A gathering of friends and family will be held at Broussard’s, 2000 McFaddin, Beaumont, from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 26, 2017.

Funeral services will be held at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 680 Calder Avenue, Beaumont, on Friday, October 27, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. with a reception to follow at the Broussard Centré, 1775 Calder, Beaumont.

Memorial contributions to the Paul Withington Gertz Foundation may be sent to the Foundation at 2630 Liberty Beaumont, Texas 77702. The Foundation will provide funds for inpatient alcohol and drug recovery and needs-based scholarships to second year law students focused on trial advocacy.