My father Richard Antreasian was an individual who shaped the way things were for my family and myself. Thanks to this man I grew to become the person who I am today. From my youngest through out my older years, I knew him to be resilient, intellectual, and a man of many talents. I watched my father, who was stricken with Muscular Scleroses, adapt his hobbies, talents, and ways of expressing himself to accommodate for his body that was slowly taken from him. He was an eagle scout, a carpenter, a sailor, a bio-chemist, a toy store owner, a kite maker, a web developer, a gardener, a chef, and a father.

He introduced me to politics, finance, science, music, the news, and how it really is. He would listen to NPR every day to hear about the current events, and peoples views on the issues. As I got older he would even listen to my political views, and complaints of how our world is handled. He always tried to give me input on why things are the way they are, sometimes agreeing with me and my position, but always wanting me to see other peoples perspective. This gave me a clearer more unbiased opinion of the issues.

He introduced me to computers, and his love for technology grew on me. We had Photoshop before computers could handle color, the game pong, and our home computer was on the internet before CSS gave information design, shape and form. He built a website well before I had any idea, or interest on how to do so. His website showed his quirky sense of humor, displaying his specs, AOL disk collection, and sharing a bit of himself with the world.

He was a very independent man despite his affliction, driving until it was no longer safe. Until the end of his life he took it to be his responsibility to cook interesting and delicious meals for his family, making sure each group on the food pyramid was represented, frequently taking his scooter to the supermarket to do our family’s shopping for the week.

The scooters battery failed once. Fortunately my sister who was on the way to work saw him and informed me because he generally didn’t bring a phone with him. I walked over to met him and pushed him and the scooter three blocks back to our house. This was one of the few times he allowed me to help him as any amount of hesitation on my part would result in him saying “Too late it’s already done.” as he rushed off to accomplish any task he may have asked us to do.

He could talk to anyone, strangers, friends and family. His conversations were jokes or arguments, anything to get whoever he was talking to going a little. He would play backgammon and chess always trying to win but never letting his competitiveness overwhelm his sense of fun. He was vocal about his opinions but never wanted to say things to overly offend people. For those he met he loved and they loved him back.

My dad always acted as strong as possible, responding to hugs with comments like “Get off, you bother me”, saying it with a smile letting on to his underlying warmness that was hiding beneath his tough exterior. He wasn’t happy being trapped in a body that forced him to live a life style in a chair, but tried not to share his depression with us. We could tell he was sad. As he grew older the last thing he wanted was to be a burden, and he never was.

He left us suddenly due to complications but the time we had together was priceless. He was a joy to be around at his best and an inspiration of resilience at his worst. He loved his family and we loved him. For all that he couldn’t do he made up for it with things he did. He could see both sides of an issue but tended to align himself with what he felt was right. He cared about his family and did all he could for us. Anyone else who was in his condition would have given up but he strode on. He was not a religious man but any god from any religion is lucky to have him. I love my dad and he will be missed.

In loving memory of,
Richard Antreasian
12/14/1950 – 7/2/2013