Paulette Nawn

Paulette Louise Nawn (nee Gautier) of Devon , PA and formerly of Havertown , PA , age 94, passed away on November 22, 2016 . Beloved wife of the late James F. Nawn and loving mother of James P. Nawn and Geri N. Burns (Wayne), grandmother of Jamie Nawn.

Paulette was born in Paris , France and was a competitive cyclist and skier. Her favorite expression in her later years was, "You know, I used to climb mountains". Aspiring to be a doctor, her medical studies at the Sorbonne University , Paris were cut short by the German Occupation during World War 2. She was consequently assigned by the German military to office work archiving documentation of Jews living in France . Recruited by the French Resistance she began smuggling documents in her bra out of the German offices until tipped off of her impending arrest. Her three co-workers were arrested and never seen again. Fleeing to Normandy on her bicycle, she returned to Paris after the American liberation and was employed as a French language instructor by the US Army where she met the love of her life and future husband James Nawn.

She enjoyed long walks with her dogs, hanging out on the beach with her friends at her summer home in North Wildwood, NJ, traveling to France and the America West with her daughter and visiting her son in Florida and The Bahamas. True to her adventurous spirit she cruised the Out Islands of Abaco on a sailboat at the age of 68.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the SPCA.