Thank you all for being here today to remember my father, Dr. Henry Lo Guercio.

The best way to describe my father is “the mostest”: the most brilliant person I ever knew; the most passionate; the most gifted; the most complex; the most intense; the most conflicted; and, sadly, for the last third of his life following his stroke, the most pathetic.

Although he had many admirable achievements, including serving his country in World War II and becoming a doctor, he led a life marred by bad luck and bad choices. Some of those bad choices led to hurt feelings in others. Some of those hurt feelings turned into resentment that festered and never healed.

With his passing, it’s my wish that anyone still harboring resentment would take this opportunity to release it. Life is too short to waste any of it holding onto resentment. If you loosen your grip on it, it will fall out of your hand, and free that hand to hold someone else’s.

Remember the line from the movie, “On Golden Pond”: Sometimes you just have to look very hard at a person and remember that he’s doing the best he can. My father wasn’t perfect. But I know he did the best he could. You can’t ask any more of a person than that.

So, let’s remember the best of him: His devotion to his patients. His determination that everyone should have medical care, even if they can only pay their bills with fish they’d caught or vegetables they’d grown. Remember his love for his family. His achievements. His brilliance. His broad smile; his sparkling, mischievous eyes; his booming voice, his hearty laugh. Remember his love of family gatherings and parties, and his high spirits.

My father’s favorite song was “Rose Garden.” My friend, Dana Cox, learned this song only days ago to help honor my father at his passing. As he sings the song following the service, please take the opportunity to remember the best of my father. You can hear his spirit in the lyrics: Smile for awhile and let’s be jolly, life shouldn’t be so melancholy. Come along and share the good times while we can.

Life really is a rose garden. Focus on the flowers, not the thorns.