Thomas Paul, a marketing leader

Thomas J. Paul, 88, of Rydal, chairman of a creative marketing firm and a patron of Catholic institutions, died of a heart attack Monday at home.

After service in the Army Air Force during World War II, Mr. Paul worked in sales in his native Buffalo. In the 1950s, he moved to Philadelphia to be a sales manager for C.A. Swanson & Sons. He was later an advertising executive for N.W. Ayer in Philadelphia and for Mel Richman Inc. in Bala Cynwyd. He was president of Mel Richman in 1972 when he left to establish Thomas J. Paul Inc.

The Rydal firm serves national and international clients in the consumer-product and pharmaceutical industries. It employs more than 80 people, including five of Mr. Paul's nine children and a granddaughter. His son John, its president, said the firm had pioneered the integration of marketing services, such as packaging design and sales promotion, a concept that is now an industry standard.

Mr. Paul created and marketed familiar logos for several local organizations, including the Flyers. A longtime season-ticket holder, he recalled the sparse crowds during the Flyers' inaugural season in 1967-68 in a 1992 interview with the Philadelphia Daily News.

"No one seemed to know what was going on," he said. "No one knew who the players were or what the rules were, but hockey has a way of hooking fans, and that happened."

Though in failing health and on oxygen, Mr. Paul attended games last season and refused to use a wheelchair, preferring to walk to his seat, his son said.

While training to be an Army Air Force flight instructor at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., Mr. Paul became an admirer of the Benedictine monks who operated the school, his son John said. Years later, he funded a dormitory at the school in honor of a monk he had befriended, the Rev. Bernard Holmes.

Mr. Paul supported and served on the boards of the Catholic schools his children and grandchildren attended. "He encouraged us to do the same," his son said. He also served on the board of Holy Redeemer Health System, and was past chairman of the Catholic Charities Appeal in Philadelphia.

Known for his strong opinions, Mr. Paul was a contributor to newspaper letters-to-the-editor columns. A former member of the Abington school board, he gained media attention and his neighbors' admiration in 1971 when he protested an increase in the school district's taxes and withheld the increase from his tax payment. He eventually paid the full amount, his son said, but wanted to make a statement.

In addition to his son, Mr. Paul is survived by his wife, Jane Wheeler Paul; sons Jim, Jeff, Joe, Tom and Andrew; daughters Susan Exum, Barbara Ryan and Jane; 16 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

Friends may call from 4 to 6 p.m. and from 8 to 10 p.m. tomorrow at Our Lady Help of Christians Church, 1500 Marian Rd., Abington, where a Funeral Mass will be said at 10 a.m. Saturday. Burial will be in George Washington Memorial Park, Plymouth Meeting.