My Dad was an amazing man – always dreaming, always scheming, always looking for that “home run”.  He was never satisfied with his projects, his businesses – always looking to make them better.  “Is that right?” was one of his favorite phrases when I would share stories of my family and the businesses with him.  Even when he was no longer actively involved in the day-to-day running of the businesses, he would ask “what did we do today?”, still calculating numbers in his head.   When I last saw Dad, I told him that he really had hit a home run with his four great kids – that we had turned out well, were all happy and active in our professions, and were all grateful for everything that he did for us growing up.

Some think my Dad loved gambling – I think he liked the challenge of the “numbers”.  He would sit for hours playing card after card and keeping the plus/minus in his head, to see if he could predict the last cards in the one/two/three/four decks that he had played.  Winning the money was just the reinforcement that he had done a good job with the numbers.  His mind for numbers was amazing – he still remembered phone numbers from our homes in the ‘60s into his ‘80s!  Addresses too.

I named my first son after Dad and he loved seeing my children grow.   I remember Sundays when we were growing up.  Mom would stay home and sew, clean house and cook (it was her only day off from the dance schools) and Dad would take us on an adventure:  the beach, Disneyland (we went MANY times), driving through the “hills” to look at the big homes sitting on the cliffs . . . he told me once that when brother Phil and I turned 5, we became “fun” and he loved taking us places.  On Saturdays, we would go to the “office” with Mom and Dad – they owned dancing schools, so naturally Phil and I had dancing lessons, followed by hanging out in Dad’s office or going to the movies down the block.  When our younger brothers came along, they went to the movies too.  Movies remained a life-long love of Dad’s.  When I told Dad that my younger son was a movie-maker, he said “is that right?”

I remember dancing with Dad: when I was a little girl, when I was a bride, when we went out to dinner in the city, when he came to corporate parties.  He was the best dancer I ever danced with – not just because he was my Dad, but he really was!  He led effortlessly and made every partner look good.  He felt the music and loved dancing. 

He taught me the importance of dreaming, reading all the junk mail because you never know when a really good idea will come along, the value of relationships (he advised me to pick carefully when I married, because it would forever change who I would become), to never burn any bridges, to discipline with a smile, and the importance of loyalty.   His handshake was his bond – no fancy contracts needed to cement his lifelong partnerships with his business partners. 

He told me that he always wanted to be a lawyer.  When I became one, along with my husband, and he attended the graduation ceremony, he told me he was proud of me.   Watching him with my children, however, I think it was more exciting for him to be a grandpa.   Dad made a difference for a lot of people in his life: with his wit, his curiosity, his business sense, his financial support, his friendship but more than anything else he gave me physical and intellectual life, for which I will be forever grateful.  My children, my grandchildren and I love you very much and you will be forever missed.  Until we meet again, Daddy.