Paul Thomas Setser entered the Lord’s loving embrace on Tuesday, November 17th, 2020 at age 68. Paul is reunited in heaven, playing the piano and joined in song with his mother Betty Jane (Zimmermann) while father Herschel Setser listens on with joy. Paul is survived by his loving sisters Judy Hein (Carl Peter) and Joan Delaney (Mark). Uncle to Sam, Nik, Amelia, Ryan, Coryn (Todd) and godson Tom (Anne). A Great Uncle to Sophia, Keira, Nora, Catherine, John and many more relatives and family. Eternally remembered and dearly missed by fellow bandmates, players and wonderful friends from the Riverwest community. Paul was born in Chicago, Illinois, in September of 1952, but moved to Brookfield, WI, at the age of three. In his childhood, Paul could be found running in the fields, climbing trees, playing little league, taking organ lessons and singing in the children’s choir. He graduated from Brookfield East High School and went to UW- Whitewater for Marketing and hosting an interview program on WSUW FM. After graduation, Paul created and hosted a late night radio show in Milwaukee called skintallations, worked for years at an audio production firm, and won a number of awards for outstanding achievement in the field. He moved into the Riverwest neighborhood and it was there where he found his home and community. Paul returned to school in the early 1980’s at UWM where he studied and received a Masters Degree in Communication. From that time onward, he pursued his dream of creating, writing and producing music including visual multimedia and audio productions. He was known as “Setser” at Circle A in Riverwest and other establishments, encouraging young musicians to perform and improve. Although he was quiet by nature, he loved to entertain and was a part of a number of groups including: Eat the Mystery (cabaret), Danny Price and the Loose Change, The RiverWest Aces and the RiverWest Accordion Club, to name just a few. He loved participating in the groups, sharing his love of music and enjoying his community. Our heartfelt thanks to Mike Chaltry who supported Paul through his recent health setbacks. There will be a private family service. In lieu of flowers and gifts, the family asks donations be made to the following organizations in Paul’s memory: 1. The White House of Music Foundation (who provide musical instruments to families in need)
https://whitehouseofmusic.com/white-house-music-foundation/ 2. The Riverwest Food Pantry
https://www.riverwestfoodpantry.org. Lastly, Paul would not want us to proceed in gloom, so once this COVID epidemic is over, plan to get together and celebrate Paul’s life with music, dancing and food, so stay tuned! Celebrate life, make music and laugh.
Paul's Memorial Service can be viewed here:
https://youtu.be/JkAyJUx14bk