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My dad passed at 2:30 am this morning. He was 90 years old.
He had a good life, and he really didn't suffer too much at the end.
My mom is also 90, and together they were making it work living at home. They could get it done without too much help until recently. My sister really carried the load, I was more of a backup, and brought in for comic relief.
My mom promised my dad she'd never put him in any kind of facility or hospital, and she delivered the goods. I could actually see her living another ten years. She's in good shape and her parents made 96 and 99.
My dad met my mom in high school. She was the most interesting woman he'd ever met. Most of the girls he knew wanted to get married, but she wanted to be a scientist.
Dad was second in his class of 500 boys, at a catholic school — St Thomas Aquinas — in Rochester NY. Over the years, I'd heard that the guy who was first was the only other guy my mom ever dated. I'll check with her on that.
My dad was the first in his family to go to college. He went to MIT, Williams and RPI. His highest degree was a Phd in Physics. He got his Phd when I was 9. I remember when he was doing his thesis he slept overnight in the lab, to watch his experiments.
After he graduated he became a pioneer in phone technology. Back when phones plugged into the wall, the first step in mobility was to move the keypad to the handset instead of attached to the wall, to improve the user experience. That specialized handle required circuit boards that were flexible to fit into the curved handle. I believe it represented new technology, at the time. AT&T called the product the "Princess Phone."
In some ways Physics is an idealistic way of thinking. Everything is theoretical. Dad operated in a world where everyone was equal. To him nothing else was logical. He simply didn't understand corruption or criminal intent or any iteration of
me-over-you. It made no sense to him.
Dad had a reputation for seeking out the (mostly poor black) women who assembled the product in the factory in Richmond VA, listening to their ideas on how to increase reliability with an improved assembly process. It was unheard off in the company. None of the other Phds interacted with the line workers.
He had relentless patience for me. I used to ask 1000 questions a day, and he would answer every one, earnestly. He would always throw a baseball with me, whenever I asked him. He would pull me on my sled when it snowed in Troy NY.
I cried a lot today, but I am glad he's passed. He wanted to go.
I'm really going to miss him, he was such a solid human.
