My dad had a crazy sense of humor, he was funny, he was a tease, although not everyone could take his jokes. He loved to laugh and he could laugh at himself too. He really knew how to not sweat the small stuff. He loved music, art, shopping, Shakespeare, and his family and friends. He loved to tease people and to be sarcastic. He loved to ask me and all my friends when we were going to get married when we were only in college. I think I was dating Helena for a couple of days when I introduced her to my parents and my dad immediately asked her, “so, when are you getting married”, a few months later, after the wedding, he changed to “so, when are you giving me a granddaughter?.” He was relentless.
My Dad taught me to not let people push me around and to stand up to bullies. He also taught me perseverance. We usually had dinner as a family and Dad would talk about the people at work that disliked him and who were trying to ruin his career. I used to wonder how he stayed there for so long and how he handled it. He would just make sure he got the last laugh. He would tell us the latest episode of how Capasalatra and Salzarula would block his tenure or block his promotion. So whenever possible he would try to upset them more. Eventually, both of them left the department and were never heard from again. One of my Dad’s best friends, Phil Goode, became the head of the Physics Department. He got his tenure, he got his promotion and his enemies disappeared. My Dad was a really nice guy but if you wanted a fight with him, he was ready for a fight.
He loved his family. He was always looking out for everyone he cared about. He never wanted me to worry about money or if I needed anything he wanted to make sure I knew he was there. That extended to my wife and my kids and anyone close to him. He would always tell me how much he loved my kids and how he loved to see them and talk to them. He will say how great they were and how much he loved them, and the love was palpable and evident to everyone around him.
I tried to talk to my parents every day for the past few years knowing that my time with him was precious and limited. It was the best part of my day to just talk to my Dad and let him know how I was doing and how my family was doing. He loved hearing about them and I loved talking to him. I will miss him a lot, but I was glad I could be there with him at the end. He was a great father and an amazing grandfather. He lived a good life. May we all be that fortunate.