It is an honor and a pleasure to share my thoughts about the extraordinary person Sally, Henry, David, Steven, and I were privileged to have as our father.
My father had many interests and talents. His career as a neuroscientist in Boston, Miami, and at the National Institutes of Health in nearby Bethesda was characterized by persistent hard work, significant discoveries, and numerous awards and honors. His research advanced knowledge of the causes and spread of multiple sclerosis and the development of potential means of treating it. He was also a pioneer in developing and using the electron microscope to study normal and diseased cells of the nervous system. His publications included three editions of a book describing the nervous system in detail; it is still used as a reference in the field despite being published for the last time in 1991.
Like everything else my father did in his life, his professional work was meticulous and thorough. He was fond of and applied rigorously the Rule of the Final Inch, described by Alexander Solzhenitsyn in The First Circle. This rule essentially states that one should stick to a task until it is done perfectly rather than quitting when it is almost done or slightly imperfect. Like Solzhenitsyn, my father believed the extra effort and time spent on perfecting what one has already accomplished pays off in terms of satisfaction that the task was fully and beautifully done.
However, my father did not focus only on conducting ground-breaking research perfectly. He dedicated himself to developing the skills of those who worked with him just as he had learned a lot from those individuals who guided his early work. One of his colleagues told me recently that my father spent several hours with him during his first day in my father’s laboratory, teaching him how to prepare slides for and use the electron microscope. My father assisted numerous non-native English speakers, particularly those from Asia, in preparing manuscripts of scientific research they did in his laboratory for publication, even writing a two page “cheat sheet” of the entire process from defining the discovery to finishing the writing and getting the manuscript accepted by a scientific journal. My father’s efforts to help others in their work are cited as often as his accomplishments when professional colleagues reminisce about him.
My father also was dedicated to communicating with scientists from around the world about his and their research, strengthening international ties while advancing scientific research to benefit mankind. For my father’s actions to support this goal, he received the Senior U.S. Scientist Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in 1985 that enabled him to spend a year in Germany collaborating with German scientists. He also headed a delegation of U.S. neuropathologists who visited China in 1990 under the Citizen Ambassador Program of People to People International. This visit intensified collaboration between U.S. and Chinese scientists in the field. My father supported this effort by inviting several Chinese fellows to do their research in his laboratory.
Beyond his work, my father’s interests were broad, including photography, sailing, skiing, tennis, opera, and collecting rare books. He pursued all of his interests with dedication, enthusiasm, and skill. He was especially accomplished at photography, as you can see from the pictures on display in one of the classrooms across the hall.
In addition to the excellence of his professional work and range of his interests, my father’s character will always stand out in my mind. He was devoted to his immediate and extended family and gave his time and intellect freely and generously to help them out. Along with my mother, to whom he was happily married for over 60 years, he gave his children love and support but also expected them to work hard, take advantage of the opportunities they were privileged to have, and do their best at whatever they did. For example, when I was a Cub Scout attempting to get my first and only badge, one of the requirements to achieve it was to walk on the narrow side of a 12 foot 2 by 4 board without falling over or putting my feet on the ground. Sure enough, Dad got a 2 by 4 board, put a small piece of wood on each end to prop it up, and put it out in the back yard. He had me practice walking across the board’s narrow side until I could do it automatically. He took a picture of me in my Cub Scout uniform walking across the board, which I still have.
Besides supporting his wife and children, my father did so much to help other members of his and my mother’s families. He assisted many of his immediate and more distant relatives in diagnosing their medical problems and securing appropriate treatment for them. To enable my grandparents to immigrate to the United States after the failure of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, my father obtained a suitable job in Boston for my grandfather, who was 62 years old and a Professor of Medicine when he left Hungary. My father’s deeds reflected his strong belief in the importance of the family as a unit and the need for its members to support and help each other to create and maintain a family’s heritage.
My father had strong convictions, particularly about behavior, discipline, and hard work. He practiced what he preached and was not afraid to express his views, regardless of how favorably they would be received.
My father was persistent in accomplishing what he set out to do. He spent many months working to persuade the Superintendent of Schools in Wellesley, Massachusetts to allow Henry to transfer from private school to the nearby public school without having to repeat a grade, simply because he was born five days after the cutoff date. My father prevailed by demonstrating beyond a doubt that the cutoff date was arbitrarily determined and enforced and that Henry was performing on a level consistent or better than those who were slightly older than him.
In his interactions with others, my father focused on accentuating the positive aspects of the matter under discussion and offering positive reinforcement. Besides the examples cited in many of the condolence letters the family has received, I remember vividly the letter my father wrote me after I passed my driving test on the fourth attempt. From the letter’s adulatory tone and description of the significance of my accomplishment, the reader would have thought I had climbed Mount Everest! However, apart from the praise, my father was conveying an important message – often individuals’ accomplishments only occur after repeated failures and that hard work and persistence ultimately generally produce the desired result. It is a lesson I have not forgotten.
My father’s courtesy, modesty, interest in others, and ability to converse with them on a wide variety of issues made him well-liked and respected. He was an excellent partner for my mother, who also had a keen intellect and was socially polished. Given these qualities, my parents had a wide circle of friends and an active social life in their younger years.
The last years of my father’s life were devoted to writing an autobiography and taking care of my mother as she struggled against Parkinson’s disease. Uncle John said it best when he told me that Dad was like a rock in his fortitude and resolve in handling challenges that would overwhelm many of us. However, the strain of caring for my mother and the pain of seeing her deteriorate and finally die last February took its toll on my father’s spirits and his health. Sadly, my father is no longer with us. However, I am thankful that he did not suffer a protracted decline in his health and that he is reunited with my mother in Heaven.
I can not thank my father enough for being an outstanding role model and providing extraordinary support to me.
Service Of Remembrance For Henry de Forest Webster
December 8, 2012 – 2:00 P.M.
Remarks By Christopher Webster
