Paul Trueman Lanham
2007
Paul Trueman Lanham, 87, a mechanical engineer for the Department of Defense and unofficial town historian of Lanham, died of heart ailments Dec. 21 at Calvert County Nursing Center in Prince Frederick, Md.
Mr. Lanham, a descendant of Trueman Lanham, for whom the city is named, kept track of the history and genealogy of his family and town and often corresponded with far-flung Lanhams who wrote to the town asking about its history. Eight years ago, as the Lanham United Methodist Church celebrated its 165th anniversary, he told a Washington Post reporter that the church means continuity to him.
He was born in Washington and graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School, although he lived virtually his entire life in Lanham. He graduated from the University of Maryland and served in the Army during World War II.
He worked as an ordnance engineer for the Defense Department from 1946 until his retirement in 1973.
Mr. Lanham, past president of the Prince George's County Historical Society and chairman of the Lanham Centennial Committee, was given the St. George's Day award for his work on preserving the history of the area. He was a member of the Democratic Club of Calvert County and the Arts and Antiques Association. He also enjoyed gardening, traveling and collecting antique guns.
His first wife, Shirley Dell Pyles Lanham, died in 1975.
Survivors include his wife, Doris M. Lanham of Huntingtown; two sons from his first marriage, Paul Trueman Lanham II of San Antonio and Lewis Phillips Lanham of Greenbelt; five stepchildren; and 12 grandchildren.