From Bay Area Country Dancer No. 112 - December 2017
Michael Siemon, 1945 - 2017
By Sharon Green
Sharon and David Green are sad to report the death of Michael Siemon in the early hours of Wednesday, November 1. He died peacefully in his sleep.
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, on October 11, 1945, Michael moved with his family to Omaha later that year. After his graduation from high school in 1963, he “studied math and dabbled in philosophy” at the University of Chicago, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1967. He then entered UC Berkeley as a graduate student in math, but left after a year to join the Peace Corps. Michael taught math in Malaysia, where he fell in love with Southeast Asia. After leaving the Peace Corps in 1971, he resumed his studies at Berkeley, receiving his Master’s Degree in Mathematics in 1975.
While at UC, Michael fell in with a group that formed a choir at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire, and was introduced to the world of the Society for Creative Anachronism; in that context he joined our household as Johann Heinrich Michael Simon of Wernigerode (the Siemon family’s ancestral home). He served as dancing master, wrote poems for the College of Bards, explored calligraphy, and played a variety of early instruments. During this time he began working as a systems programmer in San Francisco and in Silicon Valley.
Michael lived with our family in Oakland until 1982, when the three of us, together with our friend Jody Lee, moved to General Theological Seminary in Manhattan. While there, Michael worked for Bell Labs in New Jersey and for the New York Stock Exchange. In New York, we all soon became actively involved in the world of the Country Dance and Song Society, especially English country dance. Michael joined Christine Helwig’s Chelsea English Country Dancers demo team and New World Sword. He took up the concertina, learning how to play for dances from Leah Barkan, band leader of Country Dancers of Westchester, and played regularly for the North Jersey English Country Dancers.
When the household returned to Oakland in 2002, Michael joined two display dance teams – Goat Hill Morris and Ring of Cold Steel (longsword)—both dancing and playing concertina. He also played concertina at BACDS dances and helped organize Fall Frolick English Dance Weekend as well as two Mendocino English Weeks.
Michael loved mathematics, dance, and music, both listening and playing. He also loved archaeology and travel, bringing back wonderful photos – from China, from Turkey, from a return visit to Southeast Asia, and most recently from Oregon, for the total eclipse. He was an excellent cook, and prepared most of our household dinners, as well as feeding various groups at the house.
Michael is survived by his Nebraska family—his brother Karl Siemon, sister-in-law Kathy, and nephew Craig; his sister Chris Wallace, and brother-in-law Bill; niece Emily, her husband Walt Ring, and sons Vince and Jordan; and niece Nancy and her husband Brian—and by his California family—David and Sharon Green, their children Lexy and Philip Green, their children’s spouses John Seal and Monica Avila, and grandchildren Johnny Seal, Morgan Avila-Bouldin, and Santiago Avila-Green.
He was a member of our family for over forty years.
Craig Fixler
Beloved old-timey musician, contra dancer, and Family Week stalwart Craig Fixler passed away Thursday November 16 after a 6 ½ year struggle with leukemia. He was blessed with the self-described “happy gene” and is greatly missed by all who knew him.
There will be a Celebration of Craig’s Life on Sunday, January 7, 2018 from 12 noon until 7pm at the Albany Veteran’s Building (1325 Portland Avenue, Albany.) All are welcome, but we are asking for RSVP’s so we know how many people to plan for. Details will be going out in an e-vite that can be shared with anyone who is interested, so spread the word. Craig’s wife, Rae, is looking for volunteers to help with the preparation and set-up.
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.
‒ from "Anthem" by Leonard Cohen
Bur McAllister
The dance community was saddened by the loss of Bur McAllister in September. Bur is warmly remembered as funny, gentle, charming, quirky, and a good partner. Dancer Phyllis Meshulam wrote the following poem about Bur several years ago; it is printed here with her permission:
“Turn of the Tides,” and Other English Dances
for Bur McAllister
The guy in the pink shirt
– and orange sneakers with purple laces –
sure can dance.
Clear-eyed,
he doesn’t smile too much,
just enough,
while concentrating
on navigating the sky.
The caller explained,
“Number two couples,
cast outward; leave a wide
berth. Number one couples,
you will fly.”
Which, once music is added,
we all do in turn,
promenade-holding each other.
Wings of violin, turn to invert,
tremulo again, turn to return,
down and up a piano run-way
up and over the moon.
That’s a try at what
dancing with the guy
in purple-pink-orange
is like.