At the age of six, he played percussion in the Philadelphia Philharmonic Orchestra. During High School, he was a sports star.
In WW II, he was a war hero and fell in love with a German girl, Lydia, who was his wife until he passed away a couple of years ago.
He gave up playing sports and music to coach boys baseball and even had a future star on his team (I asked Uncle Irv about that kid and he told me, "He was a skinny kid, good hitter, great fielder, nicest boy on the team--his name was Reggie Jackson").
He then became a carpentry and shop teacher in the Philadelphia school system until he retired.
During that time, he began painting portraits, which was his hobby for the rest of his life.
Throughout he was fiercely dedicated to his family. He was the only person other than my dad who taught me how to play baseball.
I think of Uncle Irv often. Here's what I've learned from him:
Few of us know how much talent we have
Few of us follow our passions
Few of us spend time helping kids
Few of us, despite our talents and our distractions, know our priorities
Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
www.labov.com
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