Memorial for Rich - WALSTIB June 6

Thanks Nancy!

Hope I can make it.

On a related note. I will be up in Redwood City on the 29th and would like to visit Mara. Anybody got the skinny?

Unfortunately, I will not be in the Bay area for the memorial. Bummer.

MarkD -  However I will be in Redwood City and usually wear an old Zero shirt (when my Phil's Chair tee is in the wash) so please say hi!

Thanks for the notice of Rich's Memorial, Nancy.

Paging Nancy -- Are there any details available yet about Rich's memorial service, especially location? 

Thanks!

I believe the guest list is full.   Gonna be a rather small gathering. 

All -- I learned from Nancy that the memorial is a private, invite-only event.... so, closing this thread. 

Doh! Sorry Mark and Nancy -- I posted w/o reading your updates, thank you.

I was hoping to go to this, but I understand.

For those who are going, please carry a good thought from me.

Rich was a real good guy.

Rich was the best of us.

Snubs from the underworld.   Now that's Zone Gold!

I have so many fond memories.

He was a friend of mine....

rest easy brother, we love you.

and Mark, please tell her I send my love and give her a squeeze for me.

Next time Turts. I went last month.

This was on my calendar so I had Rich on my mind yesterday, I tipped a cold one for him.

I'm sure it was a nice affair, Rich was worthy of a strong celebration and worth remembering here.

Rich was a real nice guy, and so funny. He is sorely missed, and Mara sure made good cookies.

Yesterday I was listening to a recording of Bob and Phil and wondering, how can these guys be dead?

We are all slipping inevitably away into eternity. Price of the admission ticket.

"This is what salvation must be like after a while" ~ Bob Dylan

I was able to attend Rich’s memorial for a short time. It was nice to see a lot of Zoners I’ve missed for several years now. I haven’t been able to travel much and I really wanted to be part of this because I have fond memories of Rich and Mara from Phil shows, Hawaii, DNB shows, and Zoner Jams.

The event at the Muir Woods Park Clubhouse included tables of some of Rich’s extensive and impressive recorded music collection. Also, a lot of photo albums, concert posters, his kufi hats, and more.
His friend for 50 years, Scott, led off the celebration of life with a biography, which included Rich’s work in bioengineering. I learned Rich played a major role in developing treatments that have literally improved the quality of millions of lives. Rich was a blessing to humanity in more ways than one.
Then, there were the stories of Rich, the prankster, with his escapades and antics, which were hilarious and some, ingenious.

Although I would have liked to have stayed longer, I had to leave to catch my ride. As I made my way down the hill, I could hear peals of laughter and applause.
Someone remarked this gathering was “good grief”. A true celebration of a life, well lived and loved by many.
I feel honored to have spent a little of my life with Rich and hope Mara will continue to have the comfort and care Rich provided for. Our world needs more of these fine human beings more than ever. One of the speakers said Rich is still with us. He has just changed his “cosmic address”. I’d like to think at some point in the space-time continuum, we can visit him there.

Thank you Mylar.  Seems like an appropriate showing.   I hope everyone walked out with a Kufi hat   

The first time I met Rich was 11 years ago on the Big Island during the 2015 DNB run.  It was my first time connecting with Zoners not from the PNW, and Rich and Mara were among the most gracious and accommodating of all I met, enthusiastically greeting me and sharing their spliffs with me, and letting me put my beers in their cooler to keep them cold.

The next time I saw Rich was a few years later on a Sunday in Golden Gate Park.  I had been there solo the first two days but hadn't encountered any Zoners.  That Sunday, I'd gotten one of my older brothers who  lives in Mill Valley to come along, and I spotted Rich right in front of where we were sitting as he was visiting with some of his friends,, and said hello.  He remembered me and invited me to come join him at his seats and meet a bunch of the SF Zoner family.  He was a little surprised when I foolishly declined the invite, not wanting my brother to think I'd abandoned him.

 That would be the last time we met in 3-D, although I always enjoyed the parlay and conversations with him here on the Zone.  Last August when I was in SF for the Dead & Co. shows at GG Park, I just missed him and Mara at the first night of Graham Lesh's "Heart Of Town" shows at Pier 49.  I was hanging out with Llollo that night, and she told me she had just run into them, but when I went to look for them, they were nowhere to be found.  I was disappointed, but figured there would be another chance.

In a way, I guess there was, as he emailed me about a week before he passed, curious if I knew of anyone who might be interested in his extensive and diverse music collection, or if I myself might be interested.  I told him I would surely dig his collection, but had my hands full in Seattle with other collections I'd acquired and suggested that it would be easiest for him to contact local options and suggested he reach out to Amoeba and Rasputin.  He made no mention of any health issues, and I figured he was just looking to downsize.  In retrospect, I think he was just hoping to find someone to shepherd the collection he had so lovingly cultivated.  I hope that this is what ultimately happened.

He was a real good person with a sharp sense of humor, an interest and care for others, and what the band Cream referred to as a "soul-feel" in their song Strange Brew.  Hearing the news of his passing and of Mara's memory loss issues here on the black screen was a heartbreaking gut-punch.  

Most of the months following have seemed particularly challenging for me with far too little to celebrate, so I'd like to thank you all who gathered together to celebrate Rich's life and the impact he continues to have.  Sleep in the stars my friend, you gave the best you had to give.

Thanks for the report Mylar. Sounds like it was a fine & proper event.

I interacted with Rich & Mara at many shows over the years, and I was always left wishing I knew them both better.

I imagine those who did were lucky.

My take was that he was a good-hearted rascal, who had his finger on the pulse.

I'll consider myself lucky to have known them both as well as I did.

On it goes folks.