In Memory of My Father, a Great Reader

My wonderful father, Dr. John Vandrick, died seven years ago today, December 30th. During this holiday season, at Thanksgiving and again just a few days ago on Christmas Day, I was very happy to be with my family: my husband, daughter, mother, two of my three brothers (the third lives too far away to join us every year) and their wives and children. But as we sat around the dinner table for these holidays, we all missed my beloved father, who used to sit at the head of the table and carve and serve the turkey, and who used to be “Santa” handing out gifts around the Christmas tree. He was a very good man and a very good father, and I remember and miss him for so many reasons, but here I will focus on our shared love of reading. My dad read a lot. I remember him sitting at his desk in his study, reading medical books. I remember him sitting in various armchairs in various living rooms over the years, reading a wide variety of fiction and nonfiction. I remember how he ordered many books through book clubs and catalogues, and I remember the multiple bookcases, large and small, full of books on many topics, in almost every room in every house he lived in. I remember our conversations about books. I remember that when I recommended a book, he would actually find and read it. I remember exchanging books at Christmas and for birthdays. I remember how he would carefully read and comment on my own published articles and books. I know that if he were still alive, he would read this blog and give me interested and encouraging responses. Most of all, I remember how he enjoyed reading, and was always so interested in what he learned from what he read. In reading, as in so many other areas, he was a great role model.