Respected former Williamsburg Mayor Paul Estes passes

Whether it was as a member of the United States Air Force, as a small business owner, or as a mayor or city councilman in Williamsburg, Paul Estes wore many hats during his life, and he was respected at all of them.

Williamsburg Mayor Roddy Harrison said he thinks the reason for this was the way Estes always conducted himself in a professional manner.

“He always shot you straight. He wasn’t one of these, who would tell you he would and never got to it. If he couldn’t do it, he would tell you he couldn’t do it. If he could, he would,” Harrison said. “I just think the way he held himself and carried himself was professionally the reason he was so respected. That was in every aspect of his life.”

Harrison noted that early on when he had just become mayor, he called Estes about a couple of things to ask him how he would have handled something like that, and “he gave me some insight, advice that I took to heart. I respected him to the hilt.”

Estes, 91, passed away on June 13, at the Williamsburg Health and Rehabilitation Center.

Estes was born in Pleasant View, and served his country in the Air Force from 1950 to 1954, spending most of this time in Alaska as a member of the Strategic Air Command during the Korean Conflict.

Afterward he attended Cumberland College and the University of Kentucky. He then spent 15 years working for United Airlines in Detroit, Buffalo and New York City from 1957 to 1972.

Estes moved his family to Williamsburg in 1972 and he and his wife, Theresa, owned and operated a Montgomery Ward catalog store and Estes Furniture Sales.

In 1977, Estes was appointed as mayor of Williamsburg and then was elected mayor twice after his initial appointment. He subsequently served six terms on the Williamsburg City Council.

Long time friend Joe Early wrote in a Facebook post that the first thing Estes did as mayor was try to find the money for a new city garage.

There had been federal money for city projects, but by the time Estes was elected mayor, the deadline for applications had closed. He worked with Senator Dee Huddleston to get the application period extended, and the city got the money for the project, Early noted.

“He, a strong mayor, put the city in a much stronger position,” Early wrote.

In 2004, Estes was again asked to serve as interim mayor. In total, he served the city of Williamsburg for over 21 years.

In 1980, Paul and Theresa purchased radio station WEZJ-AM. In 1990, they started WEZJ-FM and in 1997, they purchased WEKX-FM. They also owned and operated local television station cable Channel 3 for nine years, and hosted the popular morning Livewire Show on WEZJ-AM for over 20 years.

He also broadcast election returns with his son, David Paul, for over 30 years.

He had served on the Board of Trustees of University of the Cumberlands (Cumberland College) since 1975.

Estes served as a member and chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Williamsburg for 20 Years, and as a member of the Advisory Board of Directors for Community Trust Bank for over 20 years.

He was a past president of the Williamsburg Chamber of Commerce, past president of the Williamsburg Rotary Club, past chairman of the Williamsburg Whitley Industrial Foundation, a founding member of Williamsburg Old Fashion Trading Days, a past member of the Cumberland Valley Area Development Board and a past member of the Bell-Whitley Community Action Agency.

More than anything though, he enjoyed spending time with his wife, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

“People trusted Paul. Paul was a fixer. He was like a bulldog when he was working on a problem. He was just a good Christian man,” Early wrote.

Funeral services were held Friday at First Baptist Church in Williamsburg, where Estes served as a deacon and trustee for over 40 years.

“Once again another icon of our community has been lost. Mayor Estes was a leader in Williamsburg at all levels,” Harrison added.

For additional obituary information, see page A-9 in this week’s edition of the News Journal.