Former Scottsdale City Councilmember Paul Messinger has passed away at the age of 95.
“Today we learned of the passing of an iconic figure in Scottsdale’s history – Paul Messinger,” Scottsdale Mayor Lisa Borowsky said. “Paul was known and loved by so many and could easily be described as the original ‘Mr. Scottsdale.’ His life was dedicated to service, and he will be missed dearly by our community. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family during this very difficult time.”
Born in 1929, Messinger arrived in Scottsdale as a child and grew up working on his family’s farm near Miller and Indian School roads. A graduate of Scottsdale High School’s Class of 1948, he married his high school sweetheart, Cora Ross, in 1950. Together, they raised two sons, Ken and David, and built a family legacy of service and compassion, establishing Messinger Mortuary in 1959 on the very land he had once farmed. They also operated Scottsdale’s first ambulance service – an example of their deep commitment to community care.
Messinger’s civic involvement was vast and heartfelt. He joined the Scottsdale Charros in 1962 and served in numerous roles over the years. He was a fixture in many community organizations, including the Elks Club, the Lions Club, Friends of the Scottsdale Public Library and the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce, where he served as a long-time board director.
In 1971, Messinger was appointed to the Scottsdale City Council and went on to serve a full term until 1976. During his time on the council, Scottsdale saw transformational change, including the expansion of city parks, the creation of the city’s water department, the opening of the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, and early development of the Indian Bend Wash Greenbelt – projects that continue to benefit residents today. He later served in the Arizona State Legislature, representing Scottsdale’s District 28 from 1979 to 1985.
Messinger also played a significant role in honoring Scottsdale’s military heroes. He was instrumental in establishing the Scottsdale Memorial for the Fallen – serving on the committee that worked for over a decade to bring the vision to life and generously contributing to make it a reality. The monument stands as a permanent tribute to Scottsdale residents who gave their lives in military service.
Throughout his life, Messinger championed arts, education and history. He played a pivotal role in establishing Scottsdale Community College and was a passionate advocate for the arts, helping secure funding for public art installations like The Yearlings and One With the Eagle. He was a long-time trustee of Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West and served for decades on the advisory board of the Scottsdale Historical Society.
Among his many contributions to preserving local heritage, Messinger helped found the Scottsdale History Hall of Fame in 1994 – an honor he shared with several other civic leaders including Don Ruff and Art DeCabooter. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame the following year and received its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022.
Messinger was also a gifted storyteller and a keeper of Scottsdale’s living history. For years, he wrote a popular, memoir-style history column for The Arizona Republic. He compiled many of those columns into two published books, the second of which was released in 2023 – an impressive feat completed when he was well into his 90s.
Messinger and his family were also instrumental in advocating for the Scottsdale Heritage Connection, a dedicated research center for local history that opened in 2019 at the Civic Center Library.
Paul lost his beloved wife and partner, Cora, in 2020. Yet he remained active and engaged, always ready to lend his encyclopedic memory, infectious enthusiasm and generous spirit to anyone who asked.
“Paul Messinger is one in a million,” said community historian Joan Fudala. “His devoted, unending service to Scottsdale has inspired generations of civic leaders, and his stories helped us all remember and appreciate the Scottsdale we came from.”
Paul was always thinking of others–He wrote kind notes and thank you cards and when he met you; he asked you for your name, number, and address. He was such a kind and caring man. The stories in his “Scottsdale Memories” books helped to preserve early history of Scottsdale. He will be sorely missed.
One of the people you wished could have lived forever. Kind, generous, fascinating man