Eulogy

My father was a humble and unassuming man. Courteous and friendly, and a bit of a flirt, he could start a conversation with anyone. Dad was also a scholar, and he spent his evenings engrossed in biblical study and numismatic history. Or, for the layperson among us, coin collecting, which is a bit of an understatement.

Numismatics was much more than a hobby for my dad, it was his passion, and he applied his keen intellect and sometimes stubborn determination to it. He also had a sense of adventure for it. I remember traveling to Aleppo in Syria with my dad and brother once, where we wandered for hours through the souk that surrounded the medieval castle there. Dad was hunting for coins. I remember that a man took notice and approached my father. He had a cigarette box full of copper and silver coins. Dad initially declined to buy them but only so he could bargain the man down to a lower price later.

My favorite memories of dad, though, are the simplest ones: playfully goading each other over a game of backgammon, playing tarneeb (or whist), having tea together in the backyard of my home in California after a hard day's work without needing to say a word. My parents have visited me every year since I moved to California, and every year dad spent the week working with me on my house while mom cooked Syrian food and made tea for us.

Dad loved nothing more than to have a project to work on with his sons. He lived for his family, and even during the most difficult times of the last few months dad continued to concern himself for his family above all else. In the hospital he would ask about mom, as often because he worried that she was ok, as that he just wanted to be by her side. Stuck in bed he wanted to know if I was the one who was doing alright and how my brother James was doing. During these last weeks and months he was never happier than in those moments of clarity when he recognized me or my mom or my brother and, smiling, reached his arms out for a hug.

Dad's selflessness extended to all those around him. It wasn't only his family that he cared so much for and wanted to see happy. Just as he and my mom adopted me and my brother, my dad in a way adopted others in whom I think he saw a little of himself. Diligent, true to their word, and kind, dad helped them to start and grow their own businesses and to thrive in their own way. Having lived a full and joyful life dad dedicated so much of his time to helping others accomplish the same.

I could not have asked for a better father, and though he is no longer with us, dad's strength of character, his generosity, and his love will continue to live on with and through us.