October 14, 1996

In Memoriam

Private services were held last week for Gail Ellen Rich, a former UCSC staff member who died Saturday, October 5, of a pulmonary embolism. She was 45.

Rich worked at the Performing Arts Public Events Office from February 1984 to June 1994. Most recently, she had been helping her domestic partner, Neal Hellman, run Gourd Music, a local independent record company he had started.

Rich was associated with many arts and cultural organizations in Santa Cruz. She served on the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County and on the board of Shakespeare Santa Cruz and volunteered for the annual First Night celebrations. She also wrote arts and entertainment reviews for the Santa Cruz County Sentinel and was known for her work on KUSP-FM as a classical music programmer.

Her friends remember her as enthusiastic and kind-hearted, possessing charm and tireless energy.

Donations may be made in her memory to local arts and cultural organizations, especially the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County.