Alan Moltz 1933-2018

How do you measure the life of a man?

My father was a great man by any measure that children can remember their dads by.

He was great because he was a fantastic father. He was the dad that all the kids wanted when I was growing up. Because instead of working all the time, he was there for us. He always did stuff with us and was involved in our daily activities….

…Indian guides, Boy Scouts and playing football, Typing my papers when mom couldn’t. He truly loved his family. His children were his number one priority. I have always said that if I could be half the father to my sons that he was to me, I would have done right by them.

My father was a passionate man who had seemingly unending interests. He always had hobbies..when I was young, it was photography, trains, grinding rocks, coins, chess by mail, computers, camping, hiking and astronomy. More then anything, my father thirsted for knowledge. Later in life, it was wood boats, toy planes, reading about the civil war, and woodworking. He always loved to work with his hands because I think he liked to create things. With his technical background, he started out as a craftsman and became an artist.

My father also liked to collect things and never could throw anything away. He collected model trains, Hess trucks, coins, pieces of wood, nets-skey, neutsches, scrim Shaw, Lladros, and books.

After moving to Florida, he loved the warm weather and sitting in the sun. He thought the world ran on Dunkin’ Donuts hazelnut coffee with two cream and 2 Sweet and Lo . He loved going to the dog park, the wetlands, Barnes and Noble, the library and eating at Sweet Tomato.

He loved to joke about everything.….i got my sense of humor, for better or worse from him.

The most valuable lesson he taught me was to love the work you do. I remember he took a job for 1/3 of his salary to become a teacher. While he had high expectations, I never felt had his own expectations of us. …

His attitude helped shape my definition of success which is:

Being able to earn a living at something you love doing while supporting your family.

He saw life that simply. It also can we summed up in one of the quotes he loved:

If a job is once begun, do it until its done
Be it big or be it small, do it right or not at all.

My dad was not a quitter. He also never gave up. When Parkinson’s had ravaged his body and dementia had invaded his mind, he still went to physical therapy 3 times a week determined to walk again.

My father was not a religious guy. About 10 years ago I asked him what he thought happened when you died. He said nothing happens. You just return to dust. More recently, I asked him the same question. This time he said he hoped there was another life because he wasn’t quite done yet with this one and had a lot more he wanted to do.

When one of the aides push him in the wheelchair on Saturday a few days before he passed away…in his confused state he asked…was this the road to heaven?

Well Dad, When you arrive at the pearly gates, you will be with your hiking stick and hat, climbing up Tuckerman’s ravine on to climb Mt. Washington one more time. G-d will recognize you because of the flower in your lapel.

My father used to say that everything had a place and every place had a thing.

Well Dad, I guess now you are in your next place happily doing woodworking for all eternity….where you never have to take a single Tums again

I want to end by repeating what my father said so often when he saw me or really any of his children or grandchildren. He always said..

I love you, Ace.

And I love you, dad.