Paul Decelle was serving simultaneously as the Mayor of Orofino and a state legislator at the time of his death May 5, 1991.

Decelle had been in good health and his sudden death from a ruptured aorta left Orofino and state leaders in shock. He and his wife had been visiting a friend at Orofino Care Center (now Clearwater Health and Rehabilitation) when he collapsed. He was taken by amublance to Clearwater Valley Hospital and later flown by Heartflight to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane. He passed away later that evening.

He was born Feb. 20, 1951 in Ware, MA, the son of Aime J. and Aurore Decelle. After attending schools in Ware, he attended a year of prep school at Tilton, NH, and entered the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Decelle graduated from there.

He married Elizabeth 'Betty' A. Jackson Oct. 12, 1954 before beginning an 18-month tour of duty at the Panama Canal.with the Army.

Decelle started his career in the US Forest Service in Wallace after completing time in the Army where he was discharged as a first lieutenant. In 1958, he was promoted in the USFS and was transferred to Montana. He returned to Idaho in 1970 and served as the mayor of Wallace for a time. He was transferred to Orofino in 1981 and retired four years later.

He was elected to the Orofino City Council later that year and successfully won the position of mayor with a term that would have ended in 1994. In 1990, he ran for the Idaho Legislature and won a seat in the House.

He and Betty had three children, two sons and a daughter. He was buried at Riverside Cemetery.

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