Paul James Hellenberg

Paul James Hellenberg passed away quietly on February 15, 2026 at the age of 83.

He was born in Michigan on January 3, 1943, to Clare and Virginia Hellenberg. The family of then 5 moved to Racine, Wisconsin when he was 15. Paul graduated from Lutheran High School in 1961 and shortly after joined the army where he operated a printing press in Heidelberg, Germany. Upon his honorable discharge he started his own printing company, Tru Line Lithographing, Inc. in Racine, Wisconsin, which he ran for 35 years.

Paul was an active member of AA. In the early 90’s, he and several friends were tired of going home with their clothes smelling like cigarette smoke, but could not find any non-smoking AA meetings. This group of men bought and remodeled an old building, which had originally been a schoolhouse but then had been a church. They created Benjamin House in Franksville, Wisconsin, which is still active and doing good work today.

Paul was a dedicated ham radio operator using the call sign K4JA. Upon retirement, he and his wife Betsy moved to Callao, Virginia where he set up a rather large antenna farm, from which he and his ram radio team won several awards.

But he also felt a need for speed. He loved drag racing so he moved to Dry Ridge, Kentucky, to pursue that hobby. There, he continued excelling by winning several races and 4 Wallys, a prestigious NHRA trophy.

Paul was preceded in death by his parents, Clare and Virginia Hellenberg and his brother, Carl Hellenberg. He is survived by Betsy, his wife of 59 years, his daughter, Dona (Kurt) Poelman, his grandson, Zachary Poelman, his son, Jeffry (Andrea) Hellenberg of Wisconsin and his sister, Jean (Richard) Mazza of Florida.

As per his wishes, there will be no service. Those who knew him can remember him by hugging their own families and knowing that Paul led a very good life and managed to successfully check off every item on his bucket list.