Doug Paasch, 49, was puppet master at Seattle Children's Theatre

When Doug Paasch was young, he created Muppet, the first puppet he'd ever crafted and his favorite.

It was made of coat hangers and buttons, and brown fur colored with felt pens.

Muppet went everywhere with him. It rode on his shoulders for his high-school graduation picture. He wore it for his sister's wedding.

And Muppet always rode shotgun in Mr. Paasch's truck.

"It went everywhere with him," said Lisa Holmberg, Mr. Paasch's sister, marveling at his mastery with puppets. "Whatever he touched, it always came alive."

Mr. Paasch, puppet master at Seattle Children's Theatre, died Nov. 22 of a pulmonary embolism, a blood clot. He was 49.

"There are hundreds and thousands of children who have laughed and cried and thought about things they never would have considered because of Doug's ability to animate his imagination and put it in the form of a puppet," said Susan Quattrociocchi, a friend who used to work with Mr. Paasch at Seattle Children's Theatre. "He had a heart that was huge. His artistry was a public expression of his soul."

Mr. Paasch died while he was in class, studying to earn a master's degree in education. It was part of his passion to teach, say his friends.

For the past two decades Mr. Paasch was the puppet master at the theater, also teaching at Seattle Art Institute. It was Mr. Paasch who created the vampire rabbit in the production of "Bunnicula" and worked on the current production of "Wizard of Oz," designing the dog Toto.

He was responsible for dozens of puppet performances at the theater, including the 25-foot-tall Giant in "Jack and the Beanstalk," a mechanical puppet brought to life by five operators and the aid of hydraulics. By the end of last year he had worked on 47 productions.

"This is so huge for us, this loss is so huge for us," said Rita Giomi, artistic associate at Seattle Children's Theatre. "As a friend, as a human being and as an artist, Doug was the kindest, the gentlest, the most generous person in the world. He was so patient teaching actors who were terrified of puppets."

Mr. Paasch also worked with other theater companies, including ACT (A Contemporary Theatre), Civic Light Opera and Book-It Repertory Theatre.

He worked as a designer and a builder of puppets, taught theatrical effects at the Art Institute and taught in the University of Washington's Master of Fine Arts program.

"He would work with other actors operating puppets, and trained them and taught them how to handle puppets," said friend Christine Kolodge. "If there was a role for a puppet in a show, they went to Doug."

Earlier in his career, Mr. Paasch was a vocalist in several local bands, and he helped with various fireworks displays, including Kirkland's Fourth of July celebration.

His longtime partner, Lisa Jaret, of Tacoma, said some of Mr. Paasch's puppets were small enough to hold in your hands; others took six people to operate. "He really loved the work, and it came so naturally to him," she said. "He love the problem-solving aspect of it."

Jaret said he was particularly proud of "Infinite Noir," a show he produced two years ago that combined pantomime and puppetry.

Born in Seattle, Mr. Paasch graduated from the University of Washington.

The fact he went into theater was no surprise, said his sister. The whole family is in the business: his father, Norman, acts; and his mother, Lee, directs and does radio shows.

Holmberg directs music.

"The whole family has been in theater. Our grandmother was in vaudeville," Holmberg said.

It was a friend of the family who first taught Mr. Paasch how to make puppets.

In addition to Jaret, Mr. Paasch is survived by his sister, of Seattle; her children, Zach and Max; and his parents, Norman and Lee Paasch, of Normandy Park.

Services will be held at 7 p.m. Dec. 8 at Seattle Children's Theatre.

Susan Gilmore: 206-464-2054 or sgilmore@seattletimes.com