My father sang in church choirs most of his life, and his favorite pieces were Handel’s Messiah and Beethoven’s Ninth. Once he sang in the chorus for the Dallas Opera production of Boris Godunov. Along with the Steinway baby grand he bought me when I was 15, which stands in my living room today, such was his contribution to classical music. He was an accountant for Mobil Oil, and spent the last three of his 29 years there as an office manager in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Having grown up dirt-poor on a farm in what is now a rather stylish section of Dallas, he landed at Omaha Beach three days after D-Day, and was a corporal in the 7th Armored Division under Patton at the Battle of the Bulge. He heard the gunfire of the massacre of American prisoners at Malmedy as he was frantically trying to fix a tire on his halftrack.
Luckily – since I was stubborn – he attempted his paternal duty only once. In my last year of high school he warned me that to be a musician was a difficult and insecure life. What would I do about retirement?, he asked. As an artist, I replied, I had no wish to retire. It seemed to me, at 17, unwise to plan one’s entire life around retirement. But Dad eventually retired at the age of 57, and enjoyed his leisure for 23 wonderful years. On my side, I know that he sometimes hated going in to work – whereas I, in my often financially precarious adult life, have never once woken up and had to go do anything for a living that wasn’t music-related. The jury on who won that argument is still out. Meanwhile, my son’s middle name is Marvin.
Dad died Saturday, and we buried him Monday, in Frisco, Texas.
My condolences, Kyle.
I’m sorry to hear this, and my best thoughts are for you and your family.
I,too, recently experienced the passing of my Father, and wish you the best in these trying times.
I’ll be keeping a good thought for you and your family, Kyle.
Your Dad sound like a good guy, Kyle. Hope you’re doing OK.
Sorry to hear about your Dad Kyle.
Having lost my father many years ago, I empathize, and wish you my condolences, Kyle.
What a beautiful tribute to your father, Kyle. You left out his most important contribution to classical music, which is you. And it seems that you won that argument about retirement.
Oh, Kyle. My heartfelt condolences to you and your family, I’m so sorry.
Thanks for sharing this, Kyle. For what it’s worth, I think you both won that argument.
I’m very moved by this, Kyle. Deep condolences.
Dear Kyle and Family My deepest sympathies on the loss to your family.
My thoughts are with you and your family, Kyle.
Sorry to hear this. I hope you’ve been doing well under the circumstances.
I’m sorry to hear about your loss, Kyle. I hope you’re doing as well as is possible under such circumstances.
You dad sounds like he was quite a guy
Thanks for the gift, a beautiful tribute to your father. What a great loss in this life to his wonderful family and to me and my family as well. My prayer is that I, like Marvin, will live up to Marvin’s standards for honoring and serving_ first his Savior and Lord , Jesus Christ, his beloved family, his friends, his country, and the world. Marvin will always be as near as our fondest memories.
It sounds like your father was a good man, Kyle. My thoughts go out to you.
May your father’s memory always serve as a blessing for you.
Sorry to read of your loss Kyle. I am sure your dad was proud to have you as his son. My best to Nancy & Bernard.