Paula K. Kohler, 71, of Pleasant Hill, MO, passed away Saturday, January 28, 2023 at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas. Funeral services were held  Saturday, February 4, 2023 at the Atkinson Funeral Home in Harrisonville. Burial in Orient Cemetery, Harrisonville, MO.  Contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society.

Paula was born April 26, 1951 in Salina, Kansas, a daughter of Wallace Warren and Rosann Marie (Gustafson) Benson. The daughter of a civil servant, she lived in Kansas and Minnesota before arriving in Harrisonville, MO in 1965. Paula was a 1969 graduate of Harrisonville High School.  She was united in marriage to Daryl D. Kohler on February 23, 1973 at the United Methodist Church in Pleasant Hill, MO. They briefly lived in Harrisonville before making their life-long home on a farm in Pleasant Hill.  At the farm, Paula hosted countless holiday celebrations, family gatherings and reunions.  She enjoyed the peaceful life and could often be found fishing, a pastime she loved and inherited from her father.

Paula worked as a pharmacy technician at Gillen Pharmacy in Harrisonville for 25 years before her retirement where she fostered and cherished many relationships in the community.  After retiring, Paula returned to her love of painting; she spent many years as an active member of the Fine Arts Association in Harrisonville. Additionally, she had an art studio built on the family property and spent much of her time creating artworks that are proudly displayed in her home and those of loved ones.  She passed on her passion to her grandchildren by painting and creating with them.

She is survived by her loving husband, Daryl Kohler, of the home; two sons, Bryan Kohler and wife, Mindy, Adrian, MO, and Spencer Kohler and wife, Kathy, Dallas, Texas; one daughter, Leslie Vaughn and husband, Adam, House Springs, MO; a brother, Stan Benson and wife, Teresa, Warsaw, MO; a sister, Barbara Fenton, Raymore, MO; nine grandchildren: Sean, Lanie, Tony, Sam, Audrey, Lillian, Tommy, Delilah, Conway, and many other relatives and friends.