I came to my hometown, Pittsburgh, on May 22 with 4 days' worth of clothes and medication. I have not been home since then.

I'm so sad to share that my wonderful Dad passed away last Thursday night, after a 6 day stay in hospice. It's so true that people always wait too long to choose hospice, and he really put himself through hell in the hospital the last weeks of his life. He just was not ready to go, even to the last days. It was heart wrenching. And, because he waited until the last few weeks to let me help with extremely important matters, I'm in such a mess now. Almost everything I've worried about publicly here, about my parents' refusal to prepare, has come to pass, and more. The result is even worse than I could have anticipated.

I was very close to my father, and shared many interests and passions with him. He enabled me to travel the world alone when I was pretty young, and that was a hard thing for a father to do - I'm eternally grateful. Through his example, he taught me (and I've taught my sons) to be, as he put it, "a good American out in the world". We ran and biked thousands of miles together. He was literally the most dedicated grandfather on this Earth - deeply, sincerely interested in his 7 grandchildren.

I am writing Dad's obituary, and thought I'd share some of it. In the end, only the memory lives on, so thank you for indulging me in spreading it through this international community. He was inspirational in his retirement, and I hope I can remain as mentally and physically sharp as he did. Always complimented on looking younger than he was (even by the hospice nurses!), he thought he could outrun the inevitable. His last intelligible words were, "It's finally caught up with me".

Paul was born in Sharpsville, PA on March 3, 1930. Following
high school, he served in the US Navy from 1948-1952 as a Cryptologic Technical
Seaman. This experience resulted in a lifelong hobby as an amateur radio
operator. Upon completion of his military service, Paul earned a BA in
Psychology from Youngstown University, and an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh.

Paul was employed briefly by the American Red Cross before
joining Westinghouse in Human Resources where he spent the next 38 years, and
where he met Liz. Early in his career he worked at Waltz Mill in labor
relations. He was integral in the corporation’s foray into diversity, equity,
and inclusion. The majority of Paul’s time at Westinghouse was in the
international group at headquarters, and he traveled extensively in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Paul retired in 1994.

Always an athlete, Paul ran dozens of Great Races and a
couple of half-marathons, and rode century bike rides, staying physically
active until the very end. In retirement, Paul became a charter member of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institution at CMU, participating as both a student and an occasional instructor. His greatest joy was playing clarinet with the Jeannette Community Band for the last 10 years.

Dad's band is playing 4 pieces at his celebration of life. We will scatter some of his ashes along the running trails we shared, and he will be interred in the cemetery that was in the middle of our favorite run through Frick Park.

I hope to be back home by August. I miss you all.