Paul Herbert Robeson

Paul Herbert Robeson, a painter, sculptor, graphic artist, photographer, author, and designer who spent his life immersed in the arts, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on June 12, 2026, in Odessa, TX at the age of 86.

Paul was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to Leon Harley Robeson and Ruth Elenor Stevens. After graduating from West Scranton High School, he served in the US Navy aboard the USS Intrepid as ship’s journalist. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in art at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania and furthered his studies at NYU.

He began his career as an administrator and teacher of studio and stage arts in New Jersey public schools, where he met his wife, Carol Margaret Downey. After their first child was born, the family moved to Maine, where Paul became Curator of Education at the Portland Museum of Art. There he also produced a cartoon series and co-authored a newspaper column for the Portland Evening Express.

After their daughter was born, Paul, Carol, and their children then moved to Los Angeles, where he worked in the art departments at Warner Brothers, Columbia, and Universal Studios in both television and film. He also worked for the California Office of the State Architect on the restoration of the Simon Rodia Towers in Watts and the Will Rogers Home in Santa Monica.

He later brought his family to Redding, California, where he taught in the Theater Arts Department at Shasta College, served as head of Graphic Arts for KMS Hair, and worked as a set designer, actor, and director at the Riverfront Playhouse. Along the way, he designed homes, decks, and stores up and down the West Coast. He was also a gifted writer, whose works include the play Levels of Awareness and the books We Were Wise Fools, Shore Enough, and The Trip Back.

In the fall of 2020, Paul and Carol relocated to Odessa, Texas, to be closer to their extended family.

Paul was preceded in death by his siblings, Lee Franklin Robeson and Carol Elizabeth Richards. He is survived by his wife, Carol; his children, Clay Robeson, Kelly Robeson Gassaway and her husband Jason, and Phillip Brennen and his wife Lisa; his grandchildren, Kody Gassaway and his wife Dante, Hunter Gassaway and his wife Rachael, Nyah Gassaway Taylor and her husband Cameron, and Kyle, Lauren, McKenna, and Keegan Brennan; and his great-grandchildren, Sawyer and Sloane Gassaway, and Kingsli and CJ Taylor. He also leaves behind hundreds of students and actors whose lives he touched throughout his career.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in his name to your local animal rescue or to the Riverfront Playhouse in Redding, California.

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