Obituary

Paula wagner mcnamara, 90, of charleston, wv, left this world on february 10, 2016 at hubbard hospice house in charleston, west virginia.  paula, the only child of the late leah and paul wagner, was born in st. Louis, missouri in 1925.
Paula attended school in st. Louis, where she enjoyed dancing ballet, playing cello in her school orchestra and was an avid member the girl scouts.  her family moved to chicago, illinois during her high school years.  she finished high school in chicago at hyde park high school.  she continued her education at the university of omaha in nebraska and the school of the art institute of chicago, earning her bachelor of fine arts.
Paula continued her learning throughout her life while working and raising her children.   she began graduate courses at wayne state university in detroit, michigan completing her masters in special education at the college of graduate studies in west virginia. 
while attending the school of the art institute of chicago, paula met and married raymond mcnamara in 1949.  they had 5 children in the various places they lived.  she gave all of her children and grand-children the love of music, dance, art, humor, and good food.  her children are: carol rae manuel, deceased, (tom), marla mcnamara (dean simon) of charlottesville, va., cynthia mccullough (jack) of baker, wv, erin mcnamara (warren perlstein) of chicago, il, and brian mcnamara (peiqi) of norfolk, va.
Paula and ray have 7 grandchildren: aaron mccullough of cincinnati, oh, allen mccullough of baker, wv, sasha zackrisson (keith) of crozet, va, leah carbone (dominic) of point marion, pa, elliot callen of morgantown, wv, louise and angelina mcnamara of norfolk, va,
they also have 2 step grandchildren: traci asher (jim) of los angeles, ca and jodi brunjes (adam) of fort collins, co.
They have 4 great grandchildren: jacob mccullough of cincinnati, hayden and cullen zackrisson of crozet and dominic carbone of point marion.  they also have one step-great grandchild, raenger brunjes of fort collins.
Paula worked as an art librarian at the chicago public library before beginning her family.  in marquette, michigan she played cello in the symphony.  in warren, michigan she was an art instructor for the department of parks and recreation.  after moving to charleston in 1963 she continued her work as an art instructor with the adult education program for kanawha county board of education, as well as at the children’s museum (sunrise) and the charleston art gallery.  when all of her children were in school she began full time work at the west virginia rehabilitation center in institute, wv as an art instructor and librarian.  after retirement she was the executive director for the wv therapeutic recreation association.
Paula was an award winning artist, exhibiting work wherever she lived.  she was active in the charleston art scene as a member of allied artists and the clay centers collectors club. Her work was shown at the charleston art gallery and the huntington art gallery where she received many first and second place awards. 
paula and ray traveled the united states throughout their married lives.  after retirement they extended their travels to over 20 foreign countries on their own as well as with the organizations of friendship force international and partners of the americas. 
memorial service will be 5 p.M. Monday, february 15, 2016 at the barlow bonsall funeral home, 1118 virginia st. Charleston, wv, where there will be a visitation, one hour prior to the service.
In lieu of flowers ““ the family suggests donations can be made to: kanawha hospice care, 1606 kanawha blvd w, charleston, wv 25387 or west virginia symphony orchestra, po box 2292, charleston, wv  25328.