# My father died yesterday
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-father-died-yesterday/1025903
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [December 20, 2025, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-father-died-yesterday/1025903 "2025-12-20T23:08:46Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2025, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-father-died-yesterday/1025903/1 "2025-12-20T23:08:46Z")
My father died yesterday, at the age of 94.
He had a remarkable life. As a child he was in the Budapest ghetto during WWII. He escaped to the west during the 1956 Hungarian revolution and met my mother in a refugee camp in Austria. They moved to Pennsylvania where I was born. He worked as a chemical engineer for a while, then we moved to Montreal when he took over management of my uncle’s lumberyard. After five years we moved to Los Angeles, where he lived for almost 50 years. In LA he owned several small businesses, then eventually went back to engineering. He was one of the engineers on the construction of LA’s rail transit system.
He retired almost 30 years ago. For the first 20 years he remained active, traveling around the world, participating in local events, etc. Then his health started to catch up with him. For the last year he was practically bedridden.
He got to live to see his granddaughter get married, and the birth of his great grandson.
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### Author:  [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2025, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-father-died-yesterday/1025903/2 "2025-12-20T23:13:28Z")
Sounds like a wonderful person to have known; a remarkable life to be sure.
My condolences.
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### Author:  [@3AxisCtrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3AxisCtrl)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2025, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-father-died-yesterday/1025903/3 "2025-12-20T23:13:54Z")
> [@suranyi](#):
>
> He had a remarkable life
Indeed.
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### Author:  [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2025, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-father-died-yesterday/1025903/4 "2025-12-20T23:15:38Z")
I’m sorry for your loss. Thank you for sharing news of what must have been a remarkable life.
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### Author:  [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2025, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-father-died-yesterday/1025903/5 "2025-12-20T23:15:49Z")
Wow, very impressive. I’m sorry for your loss. Is your mom still alive?
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### Author:  [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2025, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-father-died-yesterday/1025903/6 "2025-12-20T23:23:36Z")
Yes, she’s alive at age 89. And actually still in pretty good health.
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### Author:  [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2025, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-father-died-yesterday/1025903/7 "2025-12-20T23:24:50Z")
My condolences.
Your father sounds like he was an interesting guy. He would have been fun to talk to at a party.
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### Author:  [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2025, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-father-died-yesterday/1025903/8 "2025-12-20T23:27:09Z")
Very sorry for your loss; best wishes to your family.
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### Author:  [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2025, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-father-died-yesterday/1025903/9 "2025-12-20T23:29:31Z")
No matter what age, it’s hard to lose a parent. Your father’s life was such a fascinating one, and you honor him by eulogizing him as you have.
Hugs to you in a difficult time.
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2025, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-father-died-yesterday/1025903/10 "2025-12-20T23:36:27Z")
Can’t say it better than ^^. The longest, fullest life is still cut too short.
Condolences to you and your Mom.
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### Author:  [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2025, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-father-died-yesterday/1025903/11 "2025-12-20T23:39:37Z")
I’m sorry for your loss. He sounds like an interesting man. May he rest in peace. Take care of yourself. Grief can sneak up on you and in lots of many ways.
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### Author:  [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2025, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-father-died-yesterday/1025903/12 "2025-12-20T23:58:07Z")
I’m very sorry for your loss. As Aspenglow said, however long the life was, it’s still not easy to let them go. Grieve how you need to; different people need to grieve differently.
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### Author:  [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2025, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-father-died-yesterday/1025903/13 "2025-12-21T00:39:45Z")
May his memory be a blessing
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### Author:  [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2025, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-father-died-yesterday/1025903/14 "2025-12-21T00:56:53Z")
> [@suranyi](#):
>
> He got to live to see his granddaughter get married, and the birth of his great grandson.
And that’s now my life goal. To meet my great-grandchild, assuming I ever have one. I’m 71 now, but hoping to reach 94. My father lived to be 91.
If you had asked your father what his secret was to a long life, what would he have told you? It’s not solely because of his Hungarian genes, although that certainly helped.
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### Author:  [@Capn\_Carl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capn_Carl)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2025, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-father-died-yesterday/1025903/15 "2025-12-21T01:19:06Z")
Looks to me like he improved his lot in life, had a positive impact on those around him, had a long and lively retirement, and is missed. We should all have as much.
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### Author:  [@InsomniaMama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InsomniaMama)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2025, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-father-died-yesterday/1025903/16 "2025-12-21T01:23:07Z")
My father died last month at 94. My mom is 89. His obituary was the first I’ve ever written. He was a refugee from Poland. Earned a PhD and made a good life here.
Funny how similar our stories are. My condolences.
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### Author:  [@EnglishGrey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EnglishGrey)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2025, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-father-died-yesterday/1025903/17 "2025-12-21T01:23:37Z")
Hi Suranyi
I hope you find solace in family, friends, acquaintances and memories. It’s not easy, despite its inevitably… it gets easier. I wish you well.
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### Author:  [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2025, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-father-died-yesterday/1025903/18 "2025-12-21T01:25:12Z")
My condolences to you and your family.
Losing someone so loved is difficult.
Thank you for telling us a little bit about his interesting life.
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### Author:  [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2025, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-father-died-yesterday/1025903/19 "2025-12-21T01:35:22Z")
@suranyi Sounds like a full and worthwhile life. How great that you, he, and your mom had each other for so many years.
* * *
> [@InsomniaMama](#):
>
> My father died last month at 94.
Oh my. I’m sorry.
May the memories of both of these fathers be a blessing.
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### Author:  [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2025, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-father-died-yesterday/1025903/20 "2025-12-21T02:43:14Z")
I will also say, May his memory be a blessing.
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