I recently lost my father.

He died peacefully at the age of 94. That, in itself, is an achievement.  Also, he was mostly healthy until the last two months. That is also an achievement.

I have mixed feelings.

The obvious. I’m sad he is gone. I’m greedy. I would have liked another month – a week – even another hour to share life with him.

Still, I’m glad he did not suffer too long in his last hours.

And I was overwhelmed to learn of the people’s lives he touched, via their words and memories. There were literally thousands. I’m not exaggerating.

My eulogy to a wonderful man follows:

Many of you knew Jack Segal well. He was your rabbi [He was rabbi of one of the largest congregations in the US, counting over 2,000 families as members]. Your friend. Your neighbor.

Jack Segal was my dad. Well, he also officiated at my bar mitzvah, wedding, and children’s bris and baby naming. So, technically, he was also my rabbi. But he was mostly my dad.

We don’t get to pick our parents. But the four of us won the lottery of life. We had wonderful parents.

Here are a few things you likely never knew about Jack Segal.

He had degrees in mathematics and physics.

When I was young, I asked him if he knew the square root of 2. “Of course: 1.414.”

How about the cube root of 2. “Yep, 1.2599.”

Then I asked, somewhat as a smart ass, how about the hundredth root of 2. I knew he couldn’t have memorized all the way up.

He said it was easy. I’ll show you how. He introduced me to logarithms before I entered the 7th grade. Then I had a slide rule. Then I was a full-fledged nerd. The apple did not fall far from the tree.

We jointly constructed a giant Styrofoam model of DNA for the science fair.

Jack Segal was a closet scientist.

Who knew?

As an adolescent, I remember my dad quoting Mark Twain – talking about his father. When I was 14, I could not believe how little my father knew. Seven years later, at age 21, I was shocked to see how much the old man had learned. Typical for an adolescent. He said we’d catch up when I was 21.

My dad wrote to me every birthday and anniversary. Long hand-written notes. One recent note said not to follow his words. Follow his example.

What an example he set.

I’m not sure I ever asked him directly for his advice. I mostly knew what he’d say or do – and I could follow his example. It would lead me in the right direction.

His advice was advice he gave everyone.

The 6 most important words – I’m sorry. I made a mistake.

The 5 most important words – You did a great job.

The 4 most important words – What is your opinion?

The 3 most important words – I love you.

The 2 most important words – Thank you.

The least important word – I.

Jack Segal was selfless as a rabbi, as a friend, as a neighbor. And as a dad.

He was larger than life. He touched thousands of hearts across the world.

My wife had outpatient surgery in NY. I was in the waiting room. The office had a map of all US states, with pins in each state for patients that had came from all over. My wife and I live in North Carolina. There were a couple of pins in North Carolina. Not many. I asked if Shelley was the only “recent” patient from North Carolina.  Another person in the waiting room interrupted, and said she went to camp in NC, but she was from Houston.  Wow. Me too.

“What is your name?”

“Jeff Segal.”

“Your father isn’t Rabbi Segal, is he?”

“Uh huh.”

She said “Rabbi Segal was my rabbi, even though I’ve lived in NY for a decade. I love Rabbi Segal.”

Who didn’t?

While he was mostly an eternal optimist, two events shook his core. My brother Mike’s injury. And when his house was flooded, during Hurricane Harvey. He got through both challenges with the help of the congregants, community, and friends. And family.

He lived a full life of 94 years.

We knew his health was failing and I wanted a last opportunity to hold his hand. To tell him yet again I loved him. On Thursday, I drove from Greensboro to Charlotte to catch a flight. Perfect day for flying. As we approached Houston, the flight was diverted to Dallas – bad weather. We waited for the ground stop to lift. It did. Then there was a mechanical problem with the plane. We had to wait for a new plane. Then the pilots and crew timed out. Odds were high the flight would be cancelled. I went to rent a car. There were no cars. Desperate, I reached for my phone and opened the Lyft application. A 50-year-old woman picked me up. She had to be at work the next day. I explained I was headed to Houston to see my Dad. Not sure how much time was left. She just said to get in. And we drove together for 4 hours. Somehow, I think she must have known who Jack Segal was.

My sister called me as I was rolling up to her house. My father just passed away. She reassured me my Dad knew I was on my way and was jumping through fiery hoops to see him.

I had so many opportunities to use and did use the three most important words with him – “I love you.”

Everyone did.

He will be missed.

May his memory be for a blessing.

Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD

Chief Executive Officer and Founder

Dr. Jeffrey Segal, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Medical Justice, is a board-certified neurosurgeon. Dr. Segal is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons; the American College of Legal Medicine; and the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. He is also a member of the North American Spine Society. In the process of conceiving, funding, developing, and growing Medical Justice, Dr. Segal has established himself as one of the country’s leading authorities on medical malpractice issues, counterclaims, and internet-based assaults on reputation.

Dr. Segal was a practicing neurosurgeon for approximately ten years, during which time he also played an active role as a participant on various state-sanctioned medical review panels designed to decrease the incidence of meritless medical malpractice cases.

Dr. Segal holds a M.D. from Baylor College of Medicine, where he also completed a neurosurgical residency. Dr. Segal served as a Spinal Surgery Fellow at The University of South Florida Medical School. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa as well as the AOA Medical Honor Society. Dr. Segal received his B.A. from the University of Texas and graduated with a J.D. from Concord Law School with highest honors.

In 2000, he co-founded and served as CEO of DarPharma, Inc, a biotechnology company in Chapel Hill, NC, focused on the discovery and development of first-of-class pharmaceuticals for neuropsychiatric disorders.

Dr. Segal is also a partner at Byrd Adatto, a national business and health care law firm. Byrd Adatto was selected as a Best Law Firm in the 2023 edition of the “Best Law Firms” list by U.S. News – Best Lawyers. With over 50 combined years of experience in serving doctors, dentists, and other providers, Byrd Adatto has a national pedigree to address most legal issues that arise in the business and practice of medicine.