Father’s Day: George L. Lupori my dad
I’ll be honest, I’m not a real fan of “Father’s Day” as a national, quasi-holiday. Popularized by President Richard Nixon (in one of his rare sentimental moments), it has always felt contrived and hyper-commercialized to me. Coincidentally, I was recently in WY visiting with my sister and we had a chance to talk a lot about our mom and dad and since then I’ve thought a lot about my father. So, I’d like to share a few things about my father that have nothing to do with power tools, fishing trips or playing catch.
My father was born in Okland, CA to Tranquillo and Rose Lupori. I never knew either of my father’s parents as they passed away before I was born. My sister says that Tranquilo had a reputation of being extremely generous and, well tranquil. She also says he was a very handsome man. My grandmother was quite different: a stern, serious person.
Here’s a picture of my father in Oakland in the 1930’s.
Good times! Here’s a great shot of my mom and dad (circa the mid 1980’s) when we were all still living in Utah. My father was good guy. I was fortunate to have a healthy and loving relationship with him. Sure, we had our disagreements, but he wasn’t a controlling and overbearing person. In fact, he always told me to do my best and pursue my own path. In some ways he was also impenetrable especially when it came to his childhood, the second world war and other events. Nevertheless, he liked good conversation and I remember fondly our numerous arguments over just about everything at the dinner table. My father did a lot of things in his life: he was a musician, he was a fireman, and for most of his career he was a airplane/helicopter mechanic. He was also there for me whenever I needed help.
My father and mother were married for 52 years. The picture above was taken at their 50th Wedding Anniversary in 1999. I think this was one of his proudest moments.
Thank you for allowing me to share some thoughts about my father.
George L. Lupori August 11, 1925 - August 4, 2001
