Honoring My Dad’s Zest for Life

Here are Dad and me on the beach in Chicago at Lake Michigan. My maternal grandma is visible smiling next to me. My dear dad loved being a dad. And his birthday is tomorrow.

Here’s my blog from 13 years ago when he passed:

May 31, 2011

My dad passed away a month ago. This was our first Memorial Day and Father’s Day without him.

In 1943, at age 22, right after he married Mom, he went into the Army as a Captain, because he was a physician. He came back from Okinawa after a double whammy of polio and hepatitis, on a stretcher, “weighing 85 pounds,” as Mom always put it. He got strong again, walking with a slight limp because of a withered leg. When a kindergarten classmate first pointed out his limp, I said, “that’s how Daddys walk.” He had a happy life and a successful career as a physician.

Dad hated all wars, but he was proud of his service. Stationed in Okinawa, he learned Japanese, and “loved the Japanese people and the doctors he worked with” as he put it. He was never resentful that he got sick there. In fact, resentment, regret and guilt were emotions anathema to Dad. My siblings and I marveled at his great passion and zest for life well into his 80s, despite his quintuple heart bypass surgery, pacemaker, walker – then, motorized scooter. We often stated, “hope we get old like Dad.” I think of him lovingly this month, as I do every month, and I am proud of his service to our country.

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