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But the books he dove into every night with his two boys — Anthony, 6, and Michael, 11 — were not the typical children’s fare.
“My husband read anatomy books for my kids,” said Homa Engheta. “My boys know anatomy like you wouldn’t believe.”
The successful dentist, whose passion and excitement for his work infected others, died last month when his convertible Lamborghini crashed into a tree on Bouquet Canyon Road.
More than 100 of the doctor’s friends took a drive to the crash site on Sunday to commemorate the one-month anniversary of his death.
Friends Robert Telimi, of Granada Hills, and Armen Aslanian, of Malibu, organized the ride taken by motorcyclists and exotic car enthusiasts who often rode with Engheta.
“He’ll always be my doctor – doctor of friendship, relationships,” Telimi said. “We didn’t lose a friend, we lost a good human being.”
Homa Engheta said her husband knew his bikes and cars inside out. He was the proud owner of his yellow Lamborghini, yellow Audi and two motorcycles – one of which was yellow.
“My husband knew cars like a professional,” Homa Engheta said. “When it comes to his cars and motorcycles, he knew how to handle them. He was never wild about it.”
Friends and family of the successful dentist of 14 years said his influence touched everyone around him, including his fellow riders, patients, neighbors and more.
“Every single one of his patients was special to him,” Homa Engheta said. “I’ve had four or five families come up to me and say, ‘My kid is a doctor or dentist because of your husband.’”
Nathan Christensen, 26, will soon be one of those dentists.
“He really loved what he did,” said Christensen, whose family lives next door to the Engheta family in Stevenson Ranch. “He’s really the reason why I decided to go into dentistry.”
Christensen has two years to go at the University of Southern California’s School of Dentistry.
Homa Engheta will be selling her husband’s dental practice in Topanga.
“Patients are walking in crying,” Homa Engheta said. “He built that office, he designed it and brought patients in from scratch.”
Engheta was a successful dentist with a love for his profession, his patients, cars and bikes. But more than anything, he loved his wife and kids, said neighbor Shawna Lemke.
Engheta expressed her gratitude for the fire officials and hospital staff who tried to save her husband’s life and said he is irreplaceable.
“He was actually a very unique man,” Homa Engheta said. “I was the luckiest woman in the world to be his wife.”
Homa Engheta is seeking counseling for her two boys to work through their father’s absence.
“They lost a best friend and a dad,” Homa Engheta said.
She added she is confident that one day, “they’re going to make their dad proud.”
