Paul was born on April 14, 1953, in Marshalltown, Iowa to Donald and Ann Bergmann. He was raised in the Marshalltown area and attended Marshalltown public schools and Marshalltown Community College. Following his education he served for 20 years in the United States Navy's submarine division. He was married to Sandra Breeden on July 29, 1974. The couple had resided in rural Grinnell since Paul's retirement from the Navy. He worked for Rent-A-Computer of Omaha, Nebraska and most recently with Iowa Telecom. Paul had been active in Boy Scouts earning his Eagle Scout award. He remained involved with the Boy Scouts for many years. He was also a member of the Newburg American Legion and was very active with the Masonic Lodge. He is survived by his wife, Sandi Bergmann of Grinnell; three sons, Paul (Amanda) Bergmann, Steven Bergmann and Patrick Bergmann, all of Grinnell; three grandsons; his parents, Donald and Ann Bergmann of St. Augustine, Florida; three brothers, Gene Bergmann of St. Augustine, Florida, Tom (Gay) Bergmann of San Diego, California, Matt Bergmann of Waterloo, IA; two foster brothers, John Williams of St. Augustine, Florida and Mike (Maggie) Wirth of Fort Dodge, IA; and two sisters, Margaret 'Peg' (Howard) Cogswell of Jacksonville, Florida and Ruthann Bergmann of Columbia, South Carolina. He was preceded in death by his sister-in-law, Debbie Breeden; and brother-in-law, Jim Duncan; and Amanda's mother, Deb Neff.