Paul Kimberley Ling, 66, died at Norwood Hospital on August 22, 2019. A resident of Sharon since 1985, he and his wife, Dr. Theslee (“Joy”) DePiero, also owned a home in Edgartown since 1991.
Born in Lynbrook, N.Y., on July 12, 1953, he was the son of Frank Hayes Ling and Annette Anna Larned. Ling received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Boston University. Upon completing his studies he went into private practice, opening offices in Sharon and Quincy. His continuing and advanced training included certification by the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis, enabling him to utilize hypnosis as a tool in augmenting standard behavioral and psychotherapeutic techniques. A staunch advocate for mental healthcare and an activist who sought legislative control over the managed healthcare industry, he was a skillful, versatile, and compassionate therapist who personalized his treatment to the needs of the individual patient, integrating best practices in both western and eastern psychology. Because of his encouragement, his daughter, Alexandra, was inspired to pursue a career as a school psychologist, and she now serves in that capacity at the North Carolina School for the Deaf.
Paul (known to his family as Kim) was an avid fisherman. He enjoyed many fishing trips off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, and digging for clams with family and friends there each summer. The Vineyard was a place he and his wife loved, and from which they drew solace and rejuvenation. Among his varied intellectual interests was a keenness for military history and science fiction.
A serious practitioner of the Mahamudra tradition of Tibetan meditation, Paul was deeply influenced by the teachings of the Venerable Denma Locho Rinpoche, former head abbot of Namgyal Monastery. Paul was a devoted and dedicated student of Rahob Rinpoche Thupten Kalsang, lineage-holder and abbot for the Rahob Monastery, and Daniel Brown, Ph.D., founder of Pointing Out the Great Way, and served on that foundation’s board. As part of Paul’s practice with Rahob Rinpoche and Dr. Brown, he and a group made a special journey to Tibet to visit Rahob Rinpoche’s home monastery in 2013, where he was referred to as “Cowboy Paul” because of the hat he wore throughout the trip — a highlight of his life.
Dr. Ling is survived by his wife, Dr. Theslee DePiero of Sharon, his daughter, Alexandra Ling of Morganton, N.C., his sister and her husband, Dr. Deirdre Ling and Edward Russell, of West Tisbury and Bonita Springs, Fla., his sister and brother-in-law, the Brent Baxters of St. Louis, Mo., and his nephews, Jared Baxter of Los Angeles, and Grant Baxter of St. Louis.
A celebration of Kim’s life will take place at the Boston Center for Contemplative Practices, 760 Beacon St. Newton, MA 02459, at a date and time to be determined. Donations in Paul’s name may be made to either Rahob Rinpoche,(checks made out to Rahob Dharma Center), 18 Hewitt Rd., Petersburg, NY 12138, or the Pointing Out the Great Way Foundation at pointingoutthegreatway.org/donations.
