In memoriam: Paula Romeo was animal rights activist

Paula Romeo, 75, died June 15 from lung cancer.

She was born on Oct, 2, 1950, two minutes after her twin brother Pete in Red Bank, N.J., to parents Joseph and Susan Romeo.

Paula grew up in Middletown Township, graduating from MTHS in 1969. She worked as a fingerprint technician at the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Washington, D.C., as fingerprint technician at the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Crime Information Bureau, and administrative professional in various departments at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Paula met Victor Emanuel in 1986 and they would live together from 1987 on. She married Victor on Jan. 6, 2009, at Smather’s Beach in Key West, Fla. (so Victor would not get “cold feet”). Their wedding bands were then designed by Victor.

She graduated from Madison Area Technical College in 2013 with an administrative professional two-year degree. She was proud to have been a member of Phi Theta Kappa honor society. She also was an American Red Cross blood donor from 1972 to 2025, making 255 donations, one pint short of the Thirty-Two Gallon Club.

Paula became vegetarian in 1985 and vegan in 2011, supporting animal rights organizations. She then proudly joined the Freedom From Religion Foundation as a supporter of separation of church and government.

Along with Victor, she bicycled week-long rides in Wisconsin and cycled across Iowa three times with Powered by Plants Vegan Bicycling Team. Her first tattoo was “Powered by Plants” and her second was a heart with a green stem symbolizing veganism.

She volunteered at WHA-TV, public television in the Madison area, Gilda’s Club Wisconsin, various community events.

Paula’s final quote, at the end of every email, and now the end of her obituary is this:

“If you can’t fly, then run; if you can’t run, then walk; if you can’t walk, then crawl; but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.