I think back with fond memories of when we did our bluebird runs.  It was a great bonding experience. I still feed the birds at home.  I also remember our Par 3 golf games on Fridays. I now am at a point that I will have to quit golfing due to ailments. Feridun was in such great shape due to his daily swimming.  He is profoundly  missed.   Stay strong Louise.

Feridun Dayi was my parents classmate in Medical school. Later in life I met with him, when I fell in love with his niece, my wife Berna. He and Louis yenge invited me so many times from Cleveland to Springfield for holidays , many Thanksgiving, when Berna was doing residency in Turkey before we were married. In one TG, I was under the weather, and told them I would like to sleep when they wanted to go out, not knowing later waking up to full blown house alarm system where they set it up, not realizing I was still at home. Managed to convince the cops not to arrest me or shot me ( pre cell phone era) I had to literally sit in a certain spot over 3 hours, so the security alarm sensors would not start again and again,the loudest alarm system that I have known. I still can’t forget Feridun dayi’s face when they came home and found me sitting motionless in their couch over 3 hours. After realizing what happened, I remember him saying “ you passed through the test !!! , now you can marry my niece Berna”
He was a descent , good man. I enjoyed his company very much. I thank him so much being so nice to my wife and most importantly to our son Merit. 
Merit’s Dad and Berna’s husband

We met as neighbors 13 years ago in 2007 when we bought our homes on Via La Mesa and soon became friends.  I remember Ferid as a gentle giant of a man who listened to my endless stories and he regaled my husband Steve and me with fascinating stories about his life from Turkey to California.  Over the years these stories were shared over several gallons of ice cream on their patio.
My favorite story that Ferid told was about the night he proposed marriage to Louise.  They had left the home of his most respected colleague, (a man whose opinion Ferid said he really valued) following a lovely dinner. Louise did not know that Ferid had discussed his desire to propose marriage to her with his friend in order to relieve the anxiety he was experiencing about how do go about it properly. On the way home from the friend’s house Ferid realized he was out of gas and stopped at a Gas Station.  In his excitement and exuberance he exclaimed to Louise, “I am going to ask you to marry me and I will only ask you once so you have to answer me right now!”
We all know the answer to that question and have reaped the benefits of a life long marital partnership that has brought blessings not only to Ferid, Louise, Peri, Kurt, Lisa and Aya but to all who have known them.
Our Gentle Giant is gone from our sight, but he lives on in this neighborhood where he adorned the Green Woods with BlueBird Houses which protect the birds from the Crows and where he healed his friends from their ailments with
Love, Joy, Laughter and Ice Cream

My father was always my greatest champion.   He gave of himself completely whenever I took on a new endeavor or sport --  dressing me up for Green Bay Packer games as a child, becoming the soccer coach when I was 6 years old,  cheering wildly as I swam to victory and, most importantly, teaching me good sportsmanship from the youngest age as we competed together in table tennis, racquetball, golf, tennis and boardgames.   

I was his greatest champion as well and saw no one greater.  As a 9yr old, I would remind him of how much he'd accomplished as I watched him shave his face every morning before work.  What an amazing memory that is!    He was my greatest gift and most loved companion.  

His hard work and perseverance  allowed me to "have it all" while growing up in Ohio.   As a young man raised in America,  it is hard to convey what it's like to have a foreign father that endured tremendous difficulties and discrimination as one of the first FMGs (Foreign Medical Graduates).   At the time, I didn't realize what a pioneer he was for the entire family.  Now,  I see the successes of all of my father's nieces & nephews and feel, as I always have, ill-equipped, undeserving and unable to live up to his accomplishments.   He was a true pioneer, fighting successfully to forge an emigrant window allowing others to follow in his footsteps.

I was so proud of my father's accomplishments that it occasionally distressed me when he would introduce himself as Fred rather than Feridun during our weekly tennis doubles tournament.  I thought to myself -- "Dad, be proud of who you are and everything you've done!" but he was so humble, kind and selfless that he would say "Fred" to insure that his tennis partners (and I ) would have no confusion. 

While i wish that we could all get together to celebrate his life together,  I loved him so much that I can't imagine giving a eulogy in person because, like my Father, I am a very emotional man and would break down completely.   Ferid was an emotional man, in every way.  As you know, he would always speak to you about your difficulties, without judgement, and listen with wonder and compassion about your life story.   Even more so if it included Dolly Parton or a twisted dirty joke.  

My father's passing (even at 90) was a surprise to me because I have always seen him as an energetic and youthful soul that would always be there for me.  His sudden death has caused me to realize how special life is and how much the days and loved ones mean to us.  

I want to thank everyone who has contributed to this site in celebration of my father,  Feridun Doslu.   He was an amazing man and I hope to live my life as honorably as he did.  

Much love,

Kurt Doslu

Louise -- we don't have any photos to share but wonderful memories and his sense of humor, such as: his saying he ate so little at dinner to "keep his boyish figure"  but always found room for rich dessert; loved his saying that he told his children not to expect an inheritance because it was "going to the birds"; especially loved hearing him tell Louise when she befriended yet another (!) new resident: "We have enough friends already!" And they sure did and do. But that would never stop Louise who always has found time for more friends and more people to help. I'll never forget how he schlepped home from COSTCO and delivered toilet paper and paper toweling to us when I was recovering from surgery.
We loved looking at all the pictures and learning the details of his life, much of which we didn't know.  He leaves behind a beautiful family. We will miss him and think of him every time we see lentil soup on a menu!
Sandy and Marty