Charles Everett Shere died quietly at dwelling exterior Healdsburg on Dec. 15, 2020 after a 25-year “dance” with prostate most cancers. He was 85 years outdated. Lindsey, his spouse of 63 years, was at his facet.
Charles was born on Aug. 20, 1935 in Berkeley and grew up there and in rural Sebastopol, the place he graduated from Analy Excessive College. He was a fantastic nice grandson of distinguished Sonoma County settler Robert Crane. He attended Chapman School, Santa Rosa Junior School and San Francisco State College earlier than graduating from UC Berkeley with a level in English in 1960.
He additionally studied musical composition and conducting through the Nineteen Sixties and had an extended, diversified profession in Bay Space music, artwork and media. He was music director at KPFA Radio; announcer, critic, director and producer at KQED-TV; lecturer in music at Mills School and artwork and music critic on the Oakland Tribune. He based and revealed the new-music journal Ear within the Nineteen Seventies, and composed music all through his life. He was the writer of many books on music, literature, and journey and revealed two volumes of memoirs.
He and Lindsey have been additionally founding companions of Berkeley’s Chez Panisse restaurant, the place Lindsey was the pastry chef, and Charles served on its board of administrators for a few years
Charles and Lindsey settled completely in Sonoma County in 1997 after 40 years in Berkeley. That they had beforehand spent many weekends in the home Charles constructed on a hill exterior of Healdsburg on land shared with their eldest daughter; now they made it their dwelling. Over the following 23 years, his dwelling life was stuffed with lengthy dinners, books learn and written, and a spotlight to family and friends.
He and Lindsey traveled extensively, visiting associates, household and honorary kids in Europe and Australia. Many of those “honorary kids” have been connections that started with trade college students, or with the households that their kids stayed with on their very own nation exchanges. Charles and Lindsey typically introduced their very own kids and grandchildren on these journeys, fostering the same curiosity in tradition, language and household bonds.
All the time caring, social and taken with individuals, Charles struck up conversations with everybody he met — barbers, museum guards, dentists, associates of his kids. He nurtured his relationships with household and associates overseas simply as he did with associates at dwelling.
Collectively, Charles and Lindsey made annual theater journeys to Ashland and Pasadena with associates, and thought nothing of driving to Los Angeles for an artwork exhibit. They hung out visiting kids and grandchildren throughout the western states; as soon as, when a flight was canceled, they drove in a single day to Portland to make it in time for a son-in-law’s birthday. They loved watching their beloved Cubs at spring coaching in Arizona and noticed the overall photo voltaic eclipse at a baseball recreation in Oregon.
Charles additionally loved journey by foot. Over a number of journeys, he and Lindsey walked the size and width of the Netherlands with family and friends. He climbed Mt. Whitney and Mt. Shasta with a son-in-law and a grandson; and hiked the GR5 path by means of the French Alps from Geneva to Good with a good friend and one other grandson. He preferred this final journey a lot that he walked it twice extra, with associates and an honorary son.
Charles’ blogs and writing widened his contacts world wide. He stored one weblog devoted utterly to his meals, and one other to deal with his wider pursuits, together with (however not restricted to) journey, artwork, music, literature, language and cultural historical past. He was interested in all the things; he might hardly stroll down a avenue with out stopping to look at movers unload a piano, to look at some minute architectural element, or to look at kids enjoying soccer. This was his method to a lot of life, whether or not it associated to his grandchildren, his environment or a scholarly topic: open-minded surprise and delight.
Charles is survived by his spouse, Lindsey, in addition to his brother Jim Shere (Maria), sons Lee Shere (Marion) and Paolo Shere (Meadow), daughters Thérèse Shere (Eric) and Giovanna Zivny (Pavel), eight grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren, in addition to 4 beloved “honorary” kids (Julio, Catharina, Dominique, Kees) and lots of nieces and nephews of whom he was very fond.
No memorials are deliberate right now. Donations in Charles’ reminiscence could also be made to Other Minds or the Edible Schoolyard Project.
