Paul Manning Obituary

PAUL M. MANNING was born in Sacramento, California, on June 18, 1975. Paul deeply loved his family and was proud to tell everyone about them. He was very high energy and loved having a good time.
Paul was very close to his mother, Joyce, and cherished all the memories they made together. He loved his mom "more than the stars" and was heartbroken when she passed.
Paul's path in life started rough, growing up in Sacramento with his mom Joyce, and his siblings, Lisa and Steven. Paul met his best friend and greatest role model when his mother married Les Manning, his dad.
Paul was very athletic and loved basketball. In high school, he played football and rugby. He graduated from Del Campo High School, in Fair Oaks, California.
After high school, Paul joined the United States Marine Corps. Although he served during peace time, he was willing and ready to take action. His years in the Marine Corps were some of his greatest times, being surrounded by his brothers. He continued to have lasting relationships with many of them through the years.
After his military service, Paul needed to get out of California. He had a journey that led him to Lebanon, Missouri, where he was quite adamant that he was not staying, he was only visiting.
Paul began working in construction and became quite skilled, meeting many great friends, and one of his life long partners in the industry, Brian Bennett. They worked side by side for many years.
Paul met his wife, Brandy, and her two children, Austin and Makenzy in 2008. He quickly fell in love with all of them and was a great father to them both. Austin and Makenzy put Paul through a lot of "firsts" and they had many great memories. Soon after, there were five, when their daughter, Taylor, came along. One of his favorite things to say was, "she looks just like her momma, but she has her daddy's attitude." Paul loved his children and was so proud of them. He continued to work hard to set a good example to provide for them.
Paul asked the Lord into his life in 2017. He was so excited and had such a fire. He even had it planned to surprise his kids that he was getting baptized. He had a hard time finding a church home, but continued to love and praise the Lord.
Over the years, many of his kid's friends have been at the house. He was always trying to be a positive role model for them, by letting them know they could always count on him. Of course, he was also usually giving them a hard time about something. Many of them looked at him as a second father and he called many of them his kids, too.
Paul was a grandpa to Paisley and loved spending time with her. She came along on many soccer adventures, which is where Paul spent any extra time he had, just so he could watch Taylor play soccer.
Paul is survived by his wife, Brandy; three children, Austin Westerlund, Makenzy Westerlund and Taylor Manning; his father, Les Manning; one granddaughter, Paisley Denigan; sister, Lisa Marie Manning and her significant other, Amber King; brother, Steven Jesse Manning; father-in-law and mother-in-law, Scott and Lora Rogers; brothers and sisters-in-law, Lacey Ward and her husband Chris and their daughter, Sidney, Shelby Angst and her husband Ryan and their children, Lily and Samuel, Cody Rogers and his wife, Amy and their children, Noah and Zoey and Calley Rogers; uncle and aunt, Mark and Leslie Manning; his best-friend, co-worker and partner in everything, Brian Bennett and his family; other relatives; his Marine Corp family; and countless friends.
Paul had a caring heart. He did countless acts of love and good deeds to help others.
He was everyone's brother, whether you served with him, worked with him, were part of his family, or just met him; he made you feel like you had known him your entire life.
He will be greatly missed and fondly remembered.
*Each and every one of you has memories of Paul.*
*His family will be providing paper and clipboards, at the visitation for you to share any memories or fun stories you have.*
Memorial Visitation for Paul will be on Saturday, April 26, 2025, at Shadel's Colonial Chapel.
Military rites will begin at 1:00 with visitation to follow until 3:00.
Memorials have been suggested to Paul's family.
Donations can be left at or mailed to Shadel's Colonial Chapel, 1001 N. Lynn or P.O. Box 948, Lebanon, MO 65536.