03/05/2026
💔 Late this afternoon my dad passed away after a 19 month battle with glioblastoma, a fast-spreading and relentless brain cancer that returns without mercy. The fact that he fought it for 19 months says everything about how tough he was.
He will forever be my hero. He fought until his last breath. I am so grateful he got to die at home, surrounded by family. I got to kiss his cheeks, lay my head on his chest, hold his hands, and tell him I love him.
When I was six months pregnant with Genesis, we were at a baby store and he started calling things the wrong names out of nowhere. Stroller was ‘plug.’ Crib was ‘airplane.’ We had just shared an Airbnb for a wedding, laughing and celebrating. Days before, he was his usual fast paced, jokester self.
Getting him to the ER was a fight. The adage is true, doctors make the worst patients. My dad was a radiologist. He read his own scan. He knew exactly what he was looking at. With a steady poker face he said what he always said, even in his speech at my wedding, “Don’t worry. Enjoy life!”
That was my dad.
Even toward the end, he still had his humor. One of the last things he said to me months ago when his words had become few and far between was ‘Hakuna Matata.’
Out of respect to my father, I kept his illness within the circle of close family and friends. He did not want to be talked about like he was dying. So I showed up with Genesis after teaching my classes, and we played and played and played. When he could no longer speak, he would sing Baa Baa Black Sheep to her. As the words faded, it became just “baba… baba…”
Now every time we pull up to my parents’ house, Genesis sings it. It gives me chills writing this, but whenever I am thinking about him, she starts singing it.
He taught me resilience. He taught me to be strong, to look at the glass half full, and to treat everyone who crosses my path with kindness. He taught me to live big. I’ll treasure all the wedding of my dreams he gave me, and trips we took together as a family forever.
Dad, I’ll miss you every day.
God bless you and keep you in eternal light.
