My Words at Dad’s Funeral

Stuart K. Hayashi

 

These are the words I spoke at Dad’s funeral today.

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There are many unforgettable things about our dad. One of them was that he was a real original, and walked his own path. He was left-handed but he played the guitar right-handed. He wrote with his right hand and drew with his left. He had a keen eye for rare plants and would take an interest in them even if no one else around did. He liked to talk about philosophy. If everyone else thought his ideas were strange, that didn’t bother him. Our mom was her own person, too, and Dad really loved that about her.

I remember once he told me that when he was going about his music, someone asked him if he wanted to be the next Leonard Bernstein. Dad replied, “I want to be the first Stanley Hayashi.” And he was. There will never be someone else like Dad. He inspires me, and I miss him. Thank you, Dad.

And on behalf of our family, thank you for coming and for being a part of Dad’s life.