Obituary of Eli Lemos

My father, Eli Lemos died on Monday, April 18, 2022. Dad was so many things - a cop, a painter, and a freedom fighter. He was a son to Afra and Ramon; a brother to Ada, Jacinto, Victor, and Coco; a husband to Kathy; an uncle to Leslie Culver; a brother-in-law to Joyce Culver; a father to Camilo and me, Tania; and a grandfather to Dante, Milo, and Katja.Dad felt passionately and deeply. He would speak pointedly about how lovely a song was - as if the beauty in the world was causing him physical pain. It was important that when Dad found something of interest, he shared it with someone else. He gifted copies of his favorite book, The Little Prince, to many loved ones over the years. Every weekend Camilo and I were either going to the movies with Dad or renting the maximum number of VHS tapes Blockbuster would allow. He would take all of us to museums and theme parks and zoos. Dad loved jokes and he had a great laugh.Dad was there to help with all my creative endeavors from school projects to every halloween costume. He found joy and groundedness in the practice of Shotokan Karate. He shared his devotion to karate with countless students over the decades, but especially Camilo. In his later years, even when Dad was becoming forgetful, he would retell stories about moments in his life that he loved so fiercely - seeing Guernica by Picasso for the first time, listening to a John Lennon song, joking around with me and Camilo, and the first time he saw Mom. I like to think that in his last days, when he wasn't really with us anymore, it's because Dad was in the theater of his mind replaying the unending list of beautiful things he saw in the world. Every food and poem and story he made sure to share with anyone who would listen. We are all better for having known him. I am the luckiest daughter. I love you, Daddy.