Feridun grew up in a loving family in a village on the Marmara Sea. He told many stories of his remarkable mother, one being that she was the equivalent of the local dentist because she owned the pliers and would pull out anyone's unruly teeth with aplomb. She was uneducated, yet smart and resourceful, and with the help of her older brother, raised her 5 surviving children after her husband died after a protracted decline from tuberculosis. His uncle was much loved and respected for his artistic talent and care, however, he could be quite the task master, scolding the kids if they didn’t work fast enough in the tobacco fields or if they didn't make the daily quota of wooden shoe nails on the machine he had invented.
Feridun would have told you he was not a good student but he scored high in the national exams and was granted a full scholarship to medical school at the University of Istanbul. After graduation he completed his military service and then practiced for two years as a family doctor in a small town in southern Turkey.
Several of his medical school classmates moved to the US to specialize and one managed to arrange an internship for Feridun at Deaconess Hospital in Buffalo New York, though Feridun knew no English. He told hilarious stories about the trials of learning English, and treating patients knowing only 10 words. He would often say that the only words he knew were "yes and no and I love you" and that's how he wooed Louise.
Louise married him despite the word shortage in Buffalo, NY on 10/27/1962
After Feridun completed his internship in Buffalo and Toronto, they moved to Chicago where he began his Pathology residency at Michael Reese Hospital and Peri was born in August, 1963. He finished his Pathology residency at Marquette University In Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he became a naturalized citizen in 1966 and Kurt was born in June, 1967. Ferid then took a job as a Pathologist in Springfield, Ohio in 1971, and practiced there for 35 years. After retirement and a years long search of Southern California for the optimal place to settle, they moved to Laguna Woods, California. Both Feridun and Louise loved numerous athletic pursuits, soccer, tennis, golf, racquetball, skiing, sailing, scuba and swimming. They traveled most of the world together, enjoying scuba trips, cruises, sailing excursions and journeys with friends. He loved life in Southern California, but most especially, the community of friends surrounding them.
Feridun loved to plan and was often cooking up a gathering or a trip. When not planning, he was feeding his birds, cleaning up after them, buying more food for them, or simply delighting in them. He told the kids to forget about an inheritance, it was going to the birds. He was an avid grocery shopper and became a Costco devotee in later life. He made sure all items were securely in bags with a twist tie screwed on tight and that the ice cream never ran out. Up until he was 85 or so, he never ate a meal without hot sauce or a dessert without the addition of chocolate sauce. He loved throwing things out, especially if it didn't belong to him. He enjoyed backgammon and bridge and was happy to let you know all the ways you could be a better player. Concerned he would "lose his marbles" he studied Spanish and would practice it, or recount his family tree as he swam for hours a day with a snorkle and fins. He loved to laugh and told many funny stories or perhaps just stories, but in a funny way. He was ever generous and it brought him much joy to share his good fortune.
