Emmett Paul (E.P.) Mobley, Jr., passed away on Sunday January 4, 2015 at his home in Mebane, N. C., joining the "love of his life," Mary Ruth (Holladay) Mobley in her heavenly home. Paul was born on Oct, 16, 1922 in Starkville, Miss., to Emmett Paul Mobley, Sr. and Clara Allie (Wingfield) Mobley. When he was five years old, his mother and father took over the Wingfield family farm in Mount Ida, Ark., where he and his brothers, Joe Dick and Jeff, spent their childhood. Eventually, milking cows in the winter drove Paul off the farm thinking "there must be an easier way." While in high school he worked behind the soda counter at the local drugstore, which piqued his interest in the medical field. However, Pauls emotional bonds to the farm endured a lifetime and he last visited his childhood home in 2012. After high school, he attended Arkansas Tech for two years before transferring to UT School of Pharmacy, graduating with a BS in Pharmacy in 1944.He enlisted in the Navy and served two years, including 11 months in the Pacific aboard the USS Catamount LSD 17. A highlight of his service was "witnessing" the signing of the WWII peace treaty through binoculars as his ship was docked near the Battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Upon his discharge, Paul enrolled in UT College of Medicine, along with his brother Joe. At the end of his first year in medical school, he met Mary Ruth, a graduating RN. Lack of spending money and boyish shyness preventing him from pursuing her so she took the reins and invited him to a Sadie Hawkins Day dance. His roommates remember him coming home and saying, "Im gonna marry that little girl." They married on June 12, 1947and she continued to hold the reins until she preceded him in death by 21 months. After graduating in 1949, Paul, again with Joe, completed an internship at the Naval Hospital in Bremerton, Wash., and moved, yet again with Joe, to a residency program at the Kennedy Veterans Hospital in Memphis. With a wife and a child, he decided it was time to stop training and start working so he opened a private practice in Winfield, Ala. In 1952, he landed, quite literally, in Paris, Tenn., as a passenger on a small plane that made an emergency fuel stop at the Paris airport. Fate had placed a talkative pharmacy representative at the airport who convinced Paul to tour the area; he was immediately smitten with the town, the people and the new hospital that was under construction. He moved to the area with his Alabama partner, Tommy Boston, and they purchased a building soon to be known as The East Wood Clinic. Paul and Tommy worked alongside carpenters and painters every day until the doors opened in 1953. Within five years, his brother Joe and Tom Wood had joined the practice. He always enjoyed the intellectual stimulation of practicing medicine, but his greatest professional satisfaction came from his relationships with patientsand delivering babies! He delivered 2,038 babies before he retired from family practice in 1987. During retirement two of Pauls greatest pleasures were getting hugs from former patients and traveling with Mary Ruth. Their favorite adventures included a trip to Israel and a 14,000-mile, 75-day road trip to Alaska. In 2010, Paul and Mary Ruth left their beloved community in Paris and relocated to North Carolina to be near extended family. Paul once wrote that his ambition in life was threefold: to be a good doctor, a good husband and a good father. He approached all three with hard work, honesty, humility, compassion, generosity, and a sparkling sense of humor. He leaves a legacy as a caring doctor, a devoted husband and a loving father. Known as "Dr. Paul" by the community and "Poppie" by his family, he had a love of people and a zest for life that were felt by all he met. He was a true gentleman with a finely-tuned moral compass who has earned his place in heaven. In his adopted hometown of Paris, he was a member of the First United Methodist Church, the Paris Elks Lodge and the Masonic Lodge. He served his community for years as a member of the Paris Housing Authority Board. Into his 80s, he continued to volunteer with Meals on Wheels. Paul was preceded in death by his parents, his brothers, a daughter, Mary Sandra Mobley, and his adored wife of 65 years. He is survived by his children, Emmett Paul Mobley III of Hawaii, Margaret Ann Mobley (David Anderson) of N. C., and Robin Mobley Kitchens of N. C.; grandchildren Julie Mobley, Stephanie Trueblood (Ben), and Emily Anderson, all of N. C., Michael Mobley of Col., and Daniel Mobley of Ky.; great-grandchildren Sam and Lily Trueblood and Eliza Botts of N. C.; Ilse Mobley of Ky.(daughter-in-law), Carolyn Mobley of Tenn. (sister-in-law) and Elizabeth Mobley of Ark. (sister-in-law); and numerous beloved nieces and nephews. Visitation will be at McEvoy Funeral Home in Paris, Tenn., on Sat., Jan. 17 from 3-6 p.m. A family burial will be held at Rose Lawn Memory Garden at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 18 and a celebration of Pauls life will be held at the First United Methodist Church in Paris at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 18. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to First United Methodist Church, Food Pantry Ministry, PO Box 25, Paris, TN 38242 or St Judes Childrens Research Hospital, PO Box 1000, Dept. 142, Memphis, TN 38101.