02/07/2023
My father died yesterday morning in a horrific hiking accident in the Sandias Mountains in Albuquerque. He was 83 years old. He was funny, smart and a gentle soul.
He was a giant in his field (solar physics) and was loved and respected by his colleagues.
His hobbies included biking, hiking, coin collecting and hanging with his family.
He absolutely loved baseball. He started taking Kurt and I to games in the early 80s. He had a strong dislike for the wave at baseball games (it’s distracting from the game!) and he especially hated beach balls (why would you bring a beach ball to a game?) As an 8 year old with my Dad at a Red Sox game I loved the wave so he reluctantly let me get away with it. He’d give me a gentle smile and shake his head. It turned into a running joke that lasted for decades. I begging him for years to do the wave, but I got that same gentle head shake and smile.
That’s how he was through most of his life, amused at what was going on. He always found humor in things.
I’m not a religious person but I hope he is somewhere with his brother VJ who recently passed away and they are eating peanuts and watching a game together either rooting for the Guardians or Red Sox or against the Yankees. And maybe doing the wave just once for me.
