I was lucky to visit my grandfather just three weeks ago at his home in New Jersey where he lived with his wife Margaret. He was 98 and a few months old but his mind was clear, while his feet were failing him. We could talk for a few hours and I could show him my new book, On time and water where he plays a big role. He came to America for a one year internship in 1948 and these years became two and three until he settled in the US and the years became 70. As he lived far away from us the visits were not as many as they could have been but whenI lived in the US as a child it would always be fun to visit the family in Brentwood, they had a swimming pool a boa constrictor and a small caiman crocodile, the pets of John that later became a crocodilian. In the later years I would often come over and chat for a while. I could ask him questions about time – if 100 years were a long time or a short time, and he said without hesitation, a short time. His life story was extraordinary, his carrier as a surgeon with patients like the Shah of Iran, Oppenheimer and Andy Warhol. Grandfather will be missed by his large family of daughters and grandchildrenm while we are grateful for his long life and his peaceful passing in his sleep. Here is an obituary about afi Björn in The New York Times.
