In one of the many jaw-dropping moments in the new documentary, “Last Flight Home,” Eli Timoner asks about “goodbye powder.”

Some four decades ago, at 53, the businessman and chairman of Air Florida was getting a massage, when his neck was cracked in a freak accident, and he had a stroke. He was partially paralyzed and later relegated to a wheelchair; his health worsened in about 2020, and he also developed congestive heart failure.

His wife, Lisa, could not take care of him, as he would constantly fall and injure himself. We see the moment from a few years ago, where Timoner tells his family that he wants to die. We see his daughter, Ondi, who is the director of the film, another child who is a rabbi, and their brother, David. They work to make their father feel as loved and as comfortable as possible.

They become aware of a law in California that is not exactly assisted suicide, as it requires the person to take the pills themselves for the process to be legal, and involves a 15-day waiting period and consultations from doctors; the person must also be cognitively competent.

In the film, Rabbi Timoner says she was partly inspired to be ordained because of discrimination against her father’s disability. In an extremely touching scene, she is with Ondi at their father’s bedside for the viddui, or Jewish confession.

Timoner blames himself for many things, but he comes to the realization that measuring his life by love, he is certainly rich.

“The biggest challenge was balancing each of my family’s perspectives, including my father’s and making sure the nuances of their own journeys were represented accurately,” director Ondi Timoner told me in an interview.

She said her happiest memory was jogging with her father in Miami. He loved tennis so much that, after his stroke, they found a way to help him play a very modified version.

She said she hadn’t intended to make a documentary, but realized it was the right thing to do after talking to a spiritual advisor/therapist.

“Last Flight Home” is extremely powerful. Though he has been tormented by his poor health, Timoner’s mind is sharp and he knows about bills to the exact dollar. Unbelievably, he is able to make funny jokes, despite knowing he is about to leave this world. When his granddaughter plays the violin, you can see in his eyes that he knows he has done well.

You’re certain to cry watching the love this family has for their patriarch, giving him ice cream and chocolate sorbet, and making sure that friends can say goodbye on Zoom calls. The film is touching, and will make you reflect on your own life.

Timoner died on March 3, 2021, in Los Angeles at the age of 92.

“Last Flight Home” is playing in New York and Los Angeles, which will be followed by other cities. It will be shown at Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn on November 1.

The author is a writer based in New York.

The opinions presented by Algemeiner bloggers are solely theirs and do not represent those of The Algemeiner, its publishers or editors. If you would like to share your views with a blog post on The Algemeiner, please be in touch through our Contact page.