My father wasn't exactly a finicky eater, he just liked certain foods and really hated others. He was a meat and potatoes kind of guy. Whenever Mom made one of her specialties, fried chicken, my Dad would eat something else. She made chicken numerous times, because her four kids demanded it. Dad could grill up the best platter of pork chops you could ever want, but would not eat them himself. I have tried to recreate those same chops, but to this day cannot seem to get them right. I even use a Weber Kettle grill like Dad did. He loved spaghetti and meatballs, we all did, Mom's were the best. She never used a recipe, just made it from scratch every time. The next morning you would find Dad putting cold leftover spaghetti on white bread and eating it for breakfast. I still love to eat cold pasta to this day.
Dad was very athletic and loved to play football. He had a stocky build and was very muscular.He looked exactly like someone would think a 2nd generation Italian would. His hair was jet black, almost blue. It turned silver in his 40's and was one of those colors that women try to get from a box. Women would always say "your father is so good looking". Back then I would just roll my eyes, but as I get older and see pictures of him, he was a good looking man.
He worked as a race car mechanic, a truck driver and repaired and flew Chinooks for the military. He once got to fly the first President Bush and had his picture taken with him. He was overjoyed! Always a staunch republican, he didn't even flinch as his 4 liberal democrat kids lambasted the president. He took it all in stride, always putting up with his loudmouth kids. He was not talkative, but you listened when he did speak.
He was always there to help with our homework, especially math. I remember standing at the kitchen counter with him as he tried to explain fractions and measurements to me, over and over again. It never did take, but I appreciated the effort. He was also very patient when he tried to teach me to throw a baseball or football. Again, it didn't take, but he took it all in stride.
When you asked Dad the question "why?", he would usually answer, "Because the ace is high". It took me forever to figure out what that meant. Another reason he didn't talk much was because he was always talking to the walls. You know those walls might as well have had ears! Whenever he wanted one of his kids, he would call Beth-Mike-Gina-Myla, whoever you are. We thought that was pretty funny.
My Dad was very strong , but on Monday November 27, 2006, George Thomas Tosatto lost his long fought battle to cancer. He fought up until the very end! All of us kids were fortunate to say our last goodbyes. He was in a hospital in Florida, hooked up to a respirator and feeding tube. He tried talking and was relegated to just nodding his head or squeezing our hands. He started writing things, like; "I want to stand up", "I'm hungry" or "I want to watch football". When he died my mother and sister Gina were with him, holding his hands.
He died too early. At 72 he still had many good years in him. He and mom were to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary the following month. He also missed out on going to Italy. We wanted to make that trip when he got better. We just waited too long.
His wife, 4 kids and 4 grand kids will miss him dearly. But, we have memories of him that will live on. We have decided that we will celebrate Thanksgiving in the future with spaghetti and meatballs and have that banana pudding vanilla wafer dessert that he loved so much. Dad hated turkey and would have loved to eat this meal. We will eat it in his honor from here on out.
Dad was very athletic and loved to play football. He had a stocky build and was very muscular.He looked exactly like someone would think a 2nd generation Italian would. His hair was jet black, almost blue. It turned silver in his 40's and was one of those colors that women try to get from a box. Women would always say "your father is so good looking". Back then I would just roll my eyes, but as I get older and see pictures of him, he was a good looking man.
He worked as a race car mechanic, a truck driver and repaired and flew Chinooks for the military. He once got to fly the first President Bush and had his picture taken with him. He was overjoyed! Always a staunch republican, he didn't even flinch as his 4 liberal democrat kids lambasted the president. He took it all in stride, always putting up with his loudmouth kids. He was not talkative, but you listened when he did speak.
He was always there to help with our homework, especially math. I remember standing at the kitchen counter with him as he tried to explain fractions and measurements to me, over and over again. It never did take, but I appreciated the effort. He was also very patient when he tried to teach me to throw a baseball or football. Again, it didn't take, but he took it all in stride.
When you asked Dad the question "why?", he would usually answer, "Because the ace is high". It took me forever to figure out what that meant. Another reason he didn't talk much was because he was always talking to the walls. You know those walls might as well have had ears! Whenever he wanted one of his kids, he would call Beth-Mike-Gina-Myla, whoever you are. We thought that was pretty funny.
My Dad was very strong , but on Monday November 27, 2006, George Thomas Tosatto lost his long fought battle to cancer. He fought up until the very end! All of us kids were fortunate to say our last goodbyes. He was in a hospital in Florida, hooked up to a respirator and feeding tube. He tried talking and was relegated to just nodding his head or squeezing our hands. He started writing things, like; "I want to stand up", "I'm hungry" or "I want to watch football". When he died my mother and sister Gina were with him, holding his hands.
He died too early. At 72 he still had many good years in him. He and mom were to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary the following month. He also missed out on going to Italy. We wanted to make that trip when he got better. We just waited too long.
His wife, 4 kids and 4 grand kids will miss him dearly. But, we have memories of him that will live on. We have decided that we will celebrate Thanksgiving in the future with spaghetti and meatballs and have that banana pudding vanilla wafer dessert that he loved so much. Dad hated turkey and would have loved to eat this meal. We will eat it in his honor from here on out.
The picture was taken a month before Dad died. From left to right; Auggy, Mom, Ryan, Dad.
We love you Dad!
We love you Dad!
3 comments:
Sorry for your loss. You wrote a very nice tribute. ~hippyg
That is very nice, Mike!
I miss Dad.
Gina
I will always regret not getting to meet him; I feel like I've known him for years and years. It's strange to miss someone you never knew.
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