04/27/2026
Gently and quietly, Alan Paulsen, 78, died in the early evening of Resurrection Day, 5 April 2026, attended by his family as he faded from this life into eternal life. Alan loved finding a scenic vista for a photograph at about that time of day, so we believe he is marveling at the glories of his new home and composing more of his great photos to show us someday.
Born on 24 June 1947 to Herbert and Alma (Marohn) Paulsen in Trenton NJ, Alan is survived by his wife, Nancy (Underwood) Paulsen and sons Robert, Toby (Kyra) and Maxwell; a sister, Nancy Ann Paulsen, and a brother, John Paulsen. Also survived by in-laws Will (Kathy) Underwood, Christopher (Heidi) Underwood, and Susan (Don) Haley as well as 4 nephews and 3 nieces.
After graduating from high school, Alan bought a Rabbit motor scooter and rode it to Indiana and back before enlisting in the US Navy in 1965. He was a storekeeper on USS Corporal (SS-346) until a bad motorcycle accident ended his ability to remain in the Navy. Not that he intended to make it a career – he always told us that diesel boat sailors and nuclear Navy sailors didn’t play well together. However, motorcycling remained his great love until his health began to decline. Over his lifetime, he managed to rack up more than one million miles on quite a large variety of motorcycles. On his 2002 BMW K1200LT, he received a certificate from BMW confirming 300,000 miles on that long distance touring bike. Sport riders will probably recognize the Tail of the Dragon, which he enjoyed immensely on several occasions. Although usually averse to anything that resembled a gimmick to extract funds, he purchased at least one photo of himself on the Tail and hung it proudly over his desk. He rode a motorcycle in all 50 states and almost every Canadian province. Never content to simply hop on an interstate freeway unless unavoidable, he took several trips to Alaska as well as an organized tour to Italy and Switzerland. His first trip to Alaska in 1971 included the unpaved Alcan Highway, although on our last family road trip with the younger boys in 2016, he opted to hitch a ride on a resupply charter down the St. Lawrence rather than haul his BMW over the unpaved Trans-Labrador Highway.
After his discharge from the Navy in 1970, Alan packed all his possessions on the back of his motorcycle and headed west to Los Angeles and yet more long West Coast rides before enrolling in LA Trade Tech’s motorcycle repair program in 1972, under the tutelage of his mentor and friend, the late Pat Owens. But his love of writing and scenic photography drew him into the journalism program at Trade Tech and he got another associate’s degree before landing at Rider Magazine as Managing Editor in 1981. It was there that he met his wife, Nancy, as part of a women’s only tour test ride that Rider organized. She showed up with a hair dryer and curling iron in her tank bag, much to his bafflement. They were married on 17 Sep 1983 after Nancy finished her initial boot camp and Navy technical training. Soon after, they moved to Washington DC. Nancy received an NROTC scholarship and Alan became a motorcycle courier to support them, delivering film and all manner of documents in the pre-internet days. He worked as a dedicated courier for the Associated Press during several key diplomatic events and obtained his own photos of them, which he proudly displayed in print albums.
In 1994, he welcomed his firstborn and became the stay-at-home dad of a baby boy while Nancy continued her Navy career. He came late to fatherhood, but he approached it with the same level of care and diligence as he did for everything else: to the best of his ability and without complaint. Two more boys came in 2000 and 2004. He fixed broken toys, tended owwies, taught them “Dad’s Rules for Life,” and so much more. He could do make-believe and coax them out of a tantrum far better than mom could. He had a special list of old songs he’d sing at bedtime in a rumbly bass, like “Big John,” “Ringo,” and “Ghost Riders in the Sky.” He taught them to take care of their tools and put things away when they finished a project. He patiently picked up and moved to wherever the Navy sent them; he could pack a U-Haul tighter than anyone else. This included 5 times across the country with some combination of cats and kids of various ages, plus a move to Japan and back when Robert was little.
Alan was a practical craftsman who prized excellence in whatever he built. He painstakingly built or finished several pieces of furniture including a reproduction antique cradle that will be passed down for a long time. He could turn ideas that Nancy dreamed up into well-executed solutions, and he saw to it that things got repaired and projects were completed. He wasn’t vocal about his feelings – Nancy used to tease him that when it came to emotions and personal thoughts, he spoke as if he were being charged by the word. He did bring flowers sometimes, although his rants about coercive Valentine’s Day expectations were epic. But he showed his love by his faithful attention to all that needed to be done and did it well. He made sure that Nancy’s shoes and boots got quality care, attended numerous musical recitals and concerts, and would loudly declare, “Perfecto!” while preparing his repertoire of favorite recipes for the family. He faithfully attended as many of his sons’ school, sport and extracurricular activities as possible, despite chronic pain from the motorcycle accident at the end of his time in the Navy which made walking more difficult. And he put up with Nancy and the usual hubbub of children’s activities even when he would have preferred quiet or being on the road.
After Nancy retired from the Navy in the summer of 2006, we moved from San Diego to upstate New York and settled here. Now it was Nancy’s turn to be the at-home parent, and Alan quickly made up for lost riding time when the boys were younger. He averaged nearly 20,000 miles each riding season for 15 years in order to complete his verified million miles on a motorcycle. He wrote many touring articles for Rider magazine as time and family availability permitted. He begrudgingly made the transition to a digital camera which he came to appreciate a lot more than he expected.
Alan loved the classic horror writers, jazz, classical music, great craft beer (rarely lighter than an amber, and never an IPA), Western movies (especially Leone and other spaghetti greats), and anything with Clint Eastwood or Kirk Douglas. He enjoyed editing the newspaper while he read it, making sure his boys knew how to spot an improperly formatted headline. He adopted the Los Angeles Dodgers as his team when he moved to California, and they remained so from then on. He had hoped he would live to watch one final Masters golf tournament (he got to see the Dodgers win their opening game), but God had other plans.
Finally, in the twilight of his life as he was growing weaker from scleroderma complications and contending with pulmonary fibrosis, the Holy Spirit brought him to faith in his Savior. He was baptized in December 2025 and started hospice care the same week. He joined Nancy in a private family Holy Communion in March and was persuaded to remain resolute long enough to have one first- and as it turned out, last- celebration of the Lord’s Supper with his entire family on Holy Saturday. All three of our boys and our daughter-in-law partook Holy Communion with him. Less than 24 hours later, he was seated at the Wedding Supper of the Lamb, no longer tired and struggling. He did everything Nancy asked him to do for this final precious time with his family and we could let him go in peace. We miss him so much but we rejoice that he is safe in heaven.
He donated his body to ScienceCare in hopes that the gift of his body will increase the ability of doctors to treat others with similar ailments. We will have a memorial service at King of Kings Lutheran Church, Clifton Park NY in July 2026.
