He called himself “Indian Paul.” Though never raised in the Apache Nation, Paul was very proud of his native heritage, and took it upon himself to learn the ancient traditions and ways of his ancestors. Paul Elvin Ohlmeier was born December 3, 1957, in Phoenix, Arizona,. Adopted as an infant by Wilfred Henry Ohlmeier, and Shirley Elizabeth (Nissen) Ohlmeier, of Ute, Iowa, he was named after grand-father Elvin Nels Nissen, and brought into a large extended family, descendants of German emigrants.
Due to his father’s Navy career, Paul spent his first eight years in Japan before returning to the U.S. where he attended schools in Arizona, Iowa, and Texas. In his teens, Paul stepped onto a wayward path in his teens, and the better part of the following 35 years were not good. Paul followed his mother Shirley Stewart, a retired nurse, to Winnemucca in 1998, and when she became ill he turned his life around and took care of her until her death in 2010. His father Wilfred died in 2005. Paul had lost contact with a son born when he was only 18.
For the past few years, Paul cooperated with law enforcement in trying to stop the sale of illegal drugs, and became engaged in an effort to prevent troubled local youths from taking the path he had traveled, telling them the story of his wasted years and warning: “You don’t want to go there.” After his recovery, Paul tried to get a steady job, but a felon’s ID defeated that hope, even with recommends from substantial persons who vouched for his honesty and reliability. Still he maintained a positive attitude. A whole new world had opened to him, and he was excited about simple things..... fishing, refinishing antiques, motorcycling. After years spent in a dark world, Paul seemed to carry a light that drew others in. Through his long, losing battle with cancer, he kept his spirits up until his death at age 57, May 1, 2015, in a Reno hospital.
Paul Elvin Ohlmeier left this world as he entered it: having nothing, wanting nothing, and leaving behind a diversity of friends. Found among his writings were: a talk he gave at juvie, a prayer, a letter.... heartfelt, spiritual, poetic. It’s been said that if the world is made a better place by one act or deed, one’s life was not wasted. Paul is reunited at last with his ancestors, Apache and German, who surely welcome him. Paul asked that his ashes, along with his mother’s ashes, be scattered on a mountain he chose in California, and friends will carry out his last request.
