I received the call from my brother, just before 4:00 AM IST that my father, George Guth, passed away at the age of 94 years. Since he outlived my mother, his brother, most of our relatives, and his friends, I thought to remember him here to you as a final tribute. The times have changed and an obituary with his name in the Sequim newspaper would go unnoticed. Sadly, when you live to age 94, where your circle has expired, the possibility of exiting your life without anyone noticing is very real.
I was a member of a group in Denver, linked to the "Hevra Kadisha", or the Jewish burial society, where we were on call to make the quorum of 10 men needed for the mourners to say the Kaddish prayer. Denver had many "old timers" whose children had left town many years before leaving their parents to volunteers, like me, to accompany them to their final resting place. It struck me that problem with a long life was that it could be a life lived alone at the end. I loved doing this job, this "mitzva", because of the stories told at the graveside, by members of the community, of the deceased and their contributions to Denver's rich history. I loved these stories, and perhaps that is the reason that QSO Today has been about stories.
I was a member of a group in Denver, linked to the "Hevra Kadisha", or the Jewish burial society, where we were on call to make the quorum of 10 men needed for the mourners to say the Kaddish prayer. Denver had many "old timers" whose children had left town many years before leaving their parents to volunteers, like me, to accompany them to their final resting place. It struck me that problem with a long life was that it could be a life lived alone at the end. I loved doing this job, this "mitzva", because of the stories told at the graveside, by members of the community, of the deceased and their contributions to Denver's rich history. I loved these stories, and perhaps that is the reason that QSO Today has been about stories.
My father was raised with old-fashioned values that included hard work, commitment, that your word was your bond, that we don’t speak ill of anyone, living or dead, and to do your best on any job. And while this bar was high, I have always sought to emulate him, even when I was a rebellious teenager and young adult. Out of respect for him, I would disagree without being disagreeable, never raise my voice, or use profanity in his presence. I never wanted to embarrass him - the feeling was mutual.
My ability to fix just about anything came from years holding the light in the garage in a time when you fixed everything yourself. He taught me that no job was too large and that to eat an elephant, you ate it one bite at a time. You can always ask for help, and you prayed that you did not have many bolts left over, in the bin, after the engine rebuild. Tools were extensions of your body and needed to be carefully selected and stored when not in use.
My father was devoted to his family as the provider he was raised to be and made us accountable for our financial decisions. And while we moved every few years, as if we were “army brats” in service of the May Department Stores, my parents always made sure that we were in the best public school districts, even if the hardship was my father commuting a great distance every day to make it happen. It was only later that I appreciated these sacrifices.
I took some time off between high school and college to work, maybe "find myself", and to change my scene from years in school. I was debating college versus technical work. Since I was quite capable in electronic repair, I landed a job first at a marine radio repair company in Newport Beach, then with Communications Specialists, in Orange, that made the tone encoder decoder boards used in two-way radios.
The money was fantastic for the time - and the job reasonable. I had rebuilt my old cars in the garage twice and just wanted a new car to free up my weekends. Dad told me that if I had enough money to buy a new car, then I must have enough money to pay for college, since he and mom didn’t have it and would have to sacrifice to pay for it. He gave me a choice and held me accountable. I chose the new car, and when the time came, and I made the decision to go back to school, I had to work my way through college on my own. He was right, of course. A valuable lesson.
Besides being a husband for almost 42 years and a father, and now grandfather, the QSO Today Podcast totalling 500 episodes is the largest commitment in my life, that I have ever made, to bring you a new episode every week, now for ten years in July. Every Friday, from the beginning, is spent finishing up the audio, preparing the opening, and building the show notes pages to publish Saturday evening. This commitment is a tribute to my dad. "If you are going to do the job, do your best work". I still show up 5 minutes early for every meeting in a culture where 50 minutes past the appointed time is still "on-time". Old habits never die I guess.
I know that dad's last few years were difficult because he was losing his eyesight and no longer was safe working with his tools in the garage, on any wood, metal, or auto project. The Amazon Kindle with the ability to make the fonts larger was his saving grace, allowing him to continue to read just about anything for his enjoyment. Inviting my younger brother to be his helper and companion transformed a mostly stormy relationship to one of mutual respect. It was because both he and my brother were generous that they made it work and dad stayed in his home, in his own bed, until this morning, not alone.
George Guth, passed away Thursday afternoon, May 2nd 2024 PST. I am proud to be his son, and honored that he was my dad. May his memory be for a blessing.
My ability to fix just about anything came from years holding the light in the garage in a time when you fixed everything yourself. He taught me that no job was too large and that to eat an elephant, you ate it one bite at a time. You can always ask for help, and you prayed that you did not have many bolts left over, in the bin, after the engine rebuild. Tools were extensions of your body and needed to be carefully selected and stored when not in use.
My father was devoted to his family as the provider he was raised to be and made us accountable for our financial decisions. And while we moved every few years, as if we were “army brats” in service of the May Department Stores, my parents always made sure that we were in the best public school districts, even if the hardship was my father commuting a great distance every day to make it happen. It was only later that I appreciated these sacrifices.
I took some time off between high school and college to work, maybe "find myself", and to change my scene from years in school. I was debating college versus technical work. Since I was quite capable in electronic repair, I landed a job first at a marine radio repair company in Newport Beach, then with Communications Specialists, in Orange, that made the tone encoder decoder boards used in two-way radios.
The money was fantastic for the time - and the job reasonable. I had rebuilt my old cars in the garage twice and just wanted a new car to free up my weekends. Dad told me that if I had enough money to buy a new car, then I must have enough money to pay for college, since he and mom didn’t have it and would have to sacrifice to pay for it. He gave me a choice and held me accountable. I chose the new car, and when the time came, and I made the decision to go back to school, I had to work my way through college on my own. He was right, of course. A valuable lesson.
Besides being a husband for almost 42 years and a father, and now grandfather, the QSO Today Podcast totalling 500 episodes is the largest commitment in my life, that I have ever made, to bring you a new episode every week, now for ten years in July. Every Friday, from the beginning, is spent finishing up the audio, preparing the opening, and building the show notes pages to publish Saturday evening. This commitment is a tribute to my dad. "If you are going to do the job, do your best work". I still show up 5 minutes early for every meeting in a culture where 50 minutes past the appointed time is still "on-time". Old habits never die I guess.
I know that dad's last few years were difficult because he was losing his eyesight and no longer was safe working with his tools in the garage, on any wood, metal, or auto project. The Amazon Kindle with the ability to make the fonts larger was his saving grace, allowing him to continue to read just about anything for his enjoyment. Inviting my younger brother to be his helper and companion transformed a mostly stormy relationship to one of mutual respect. It was because both he and my brother were generous that they made it work and dad stayed in his home, in his own bed, until this morning, not alone.
George Guth, passed away Thursday afternoon, May 2nd 2024 PST. I am proud to be his son, and honored that he was my dad. May his memory be for a blessing.
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