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I had the privilege of spending the last 4 weeks of my father’s life with him. My father led a very interesting life full of passion and experience. He was one of the most successful people I ever knew. He had almost no interest in amassing money, though he had as much money as he needed to live life according to his own design.
My father was a Jesuit trained scholar. The smartest people I ever knew said he was smartest man they ever knew. In his entire education including his PHD and MD, he received all As and one B.
Success for him was running 30 or so marathons at the outer edge of his capability, skiing down a double diamond at the edge of control, cooking a bowl of chili so hot your eyes would water, charming the skirt off of a beautiful woman, taking thousands from a craps dealer in Tahoe, spending time with family and friends, and saving lives at his rural health clinic whether or not his patients could afford to pay.
One of the most significant things he ever did for me was teaching me how to be responsible for myself. When
I was about 10 years old, I went to my father and asked for a motorcycle. All my friends were riding dirt bikes their parents had purchased. I asked my father to buy me a dirt bike and he thought about it for about 2 weeks and then said, “If you want a dirt bike, get a paper route, and buy it for yourself.” I was so angry at him. My father made more money than all my friend’s fathers. I was so angry at him that I never asked for help again. I became a self-starter. By my senior year in high school, I was a used automobile dealer with 20 of my own cars. By having the courage to say no to me, he has served me my entire life.
My father lived his life the way he wanted and was admired for having the courage to do so. He died peacefully in the arms of those people he loved most, including his wife, his children, his grandchildren, and his siblings. During his final few days, we all sat around him and told each other the same old stories we have told a million times before, and
we told some new ones from recent years. There was as much laughing, singing, and dancing, as there was crying.
Go silently into the night dear old friend. You have taught us well.
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Nancy Taylor
non-member comment
What a Tribute!
Words don't express the depth of my gratitude to you for communicating the essence that was Dave/Dad. I simply say thank and I love you.