Remembering my dad, Harold Tseklenis, on his 90th birthday

By David Tseklenis

Today, October 13, 2020, marks Harold Tseklenis’ birthday, his 90th.  

For most it would be a milestone, except to his family and friends. We won’t be celebrating with him. But we will remember him. 

He passed away last December. Many of the Downey Patriot’s readers may recall the heartfelt stories written about him by Eric, by Lorine, and by Larry in these pages. Harold read the Patriot faithfully. To him it was more than just a community newspaper. It was a forum for Downey’s citizens – to voice their concerns and sometimes even their pleasures about his town and its people. Harold was one of them, one of you.

For most of Harold’s dynamic life he didn’t count his birthdays. He would say, “Who’s counting.” But in his waning years, he would chuckle that each year counted very much. Although to him his birthday wasn’t a big deal. 

Yet there were two things he enjoyed doing to mark the occasion. If family was in town, we would gather for barbecue dinner at his and Anna’s home. For us it was like a holiday meal simply because it was one of the few and exceptional occasions we could all assemble, and gladly. Harold loved to cook and loved to entertain guests. 

If most of us weren’t around, Harold would like to drive to the Getty Center in West LA. There as the sun receded over the Pacific, he could enjoy architecture and culture at their utmost. The setting must have reminded him of Greece, like the Acropolis in Athens or ancient Olympia near where he grew up.

While we think of Harold and his wife Anna on his birthday this year, especially this year, countless of us around the world have had to endure similar and incalculable loss. Together we remember.