To all our very dear friends everywhere,
Your many kind letters and calls have eased our sorrow during this difficult time. To everyone who wrote to us or sent us your wonderful, compassionate healing energy, we thank you and hope these words can serve as a return communication to the many we know are sharing this loss with us.
Jerry’s passing has shaken and saddened our family members. He was our father, husband, brother, leader, and inspiration. He showed the way by living and thinking creatively. He was filled with gifts and gave freely and humorously to anyone nearby. He shared his imagination and keen sense of fun with everyone, yet also carried the passion for life that manifested clearly in his music.
Just after Pigpen passed away, Jerry became despondent about continuing with the band and was close to deciding to hang it up. He and Hunter sat down together and wrote a couple of tunes that were so weird, no one but the Grateful Dead could possibly play them. This realization was somehow so cheering that it propelled them into the studio to work on songs for another album. Then they took that long break from performing, which made time for “Old and In the Way” to develop. The memories from that time are some of our very happiest. The children were young, we were young, lots of energy was flowing for love and life and making music.
We wish some of that creative juice time for all of you.
After all, we have learned much about magic, about the dance between audience and performers. It’s a circle of hearts falling into rhythm, in confluences of color and sound. All those shows, so many instants of perfect communication between musicians, energy fielded by the crowd, swirling around, filling hearts; this is our shared memory and shared ceremony.
Perhaps it would be a good idea to set aside a day to remember Jerry each year. His birthday, August 1, is a possibility. Good summer weather to go to the park with kids and dogs, share a picnic, walk by a lake, be with friends. Love one another. Play together. If we were a big circle, we can be many small circles and pass that good feeling around again and again. It is real.
To everyone, our love and deepest sympathy.
Carolyn Garcia (Mountain Girl) & the Garcia family circle
“We’ll meet again someday on the avenue.”
This passage is an excerpt from GARCIA - A Grateful Celebration, originally published in 1995 by Dupree's Diamond News. To learn more about Dupree's Diamond News or how to obtain a copy of GARCIA - A Grateful Celebration, click here.