Paul Leonard Date, loving father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, died on February 15, 2017 in Longwood, Florida. He was 91. Mr. Date was born in Evanston, Illinois to Paul Date and Helen Aikin Date. He enjoyed a very happy childhood in Highland Park, Illinois with his brother and two sisters. The family spent many happy times boating on Lake Michigan. He was an excellent sailor and swimmer. His love of the water and sailing would last a lifetime. He was a 1948 graduate of Northwestern University. While at Northwestern, he was a member of Beta fraternity. He was a gifted and talented photographer. During his college years, he earned part of his tuition as a campus photographer taking pictures at many campus events. He and his wife, Betty, moved to Miami Shores, Florida in 1958, where they raised three daughters. He served as a governing elder at Miami Shores Presbyterian Church and director in The Miami Shores Chamber of Commerce. He was always active in church and civic endeavors, always seeking opportunities to serve his community.
His proudest contribution to his community was as founding director of the Dade County Church of the Handicapped. The DCCH was a "Floating Church", founded in 1973. It included all Christian denominations, with area churches taking turns hosting the "church". The purpose of the DCCH was to provide a church experience for the disabled who wanted to attend church, but found it too difficult. Attendance at a traditional church service could be simply too overwhelming in the early seventies when there was little "Handicapped Access". Paul Date's long-range goal for this program was to bring the challenges of the disabled community to the attention of the host churches and others. The participating churches were often unaware and surprised by how many unseen potential members were waiting for an opportunity to attend church! In describing the overall goal of The Church of the Handicapped, Mr. Date wrote, "… eventually the handicapped will all be assimilated into the individual churches on Sunday mornings on a continuing basis with architectural barriers and other problems eliminated." His vision and hope was for mainstreaming of all who were disabled. The first church service was held on June 9, 1973, with 31 in attendance. Within a year, attendance grew to 130. Significantly, on January 23, 1990, the 101st Congress passed the "Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990" (ADA), which was then signed into law by President George Bush. It established comprehensive protection for people with a variety of disabilities in many aspects of public life. Undoubtedly, Paul Date's earlier efforts contributed to the eventual passage of the ADA.

Paul L. Date was a manufacturer's representative during most of his working life and later, an importer and distributer. He was a very innovative and creative businessman. To increase his productivity, and to be more available to his customers, he attained his pilot's license and purchased a small red and white Cessna. This way, he could travel the state of Florida more efficiently, seeing more customers in less time. He also had one of the first car phones and did not hesitate to buy a home computer when that technology became available. Paul and Betty lived in Miami Shores until 1998, when they moved to Longwood to be near their daughters and grandchildren. Mr. Date was preceded in death by his wife, Betty Kinzer Date, and his sister, Beverley Date Hawes Boyer. He is survived by three daughters, Betty Clark (Mike), Jane McCann (John), and Catherine Gendreau. He is also survived by his sister Marilyn Kruecke, his brother, the Rev. Henry S. Date, nine grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Paul Date was always looking for opportunities to serve his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He knew with confident assurance that, for him, "to be absent from the body would mean to be present with his Lord", 2 Corinthians 5:8. His wisdom, his guidance, his steadfastness, his sense of humor, and his love will be deeply missed.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:7-8

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Mr. Date to the Hemophilia Foundation. https://interland3.donorperfect.net /weblink./weblink