Bay Area Country Dancer N o . 1 1 7 – M a r c h 2 0 1 9
In Memoriam:
By Mary Luckhart
I had word from Mike Silver this morning that Ed Burke passed away in September. Ed was BACDS member #689, and was a member from 1986 until 2015. He and his wife Robin danced mostly at Palo Alto English, where Robin’s mother lived. They also went to the Mad Robin Ball regularly. Robin died in 2011 at a relatively young age. I remember Ed as a very sweet man, who stood with his feet crossed most of the time, and did not look like he’d be a good dancer, but when the music started, he was on time, in the right place, and fun to dance with.
PS - Ed loved hands, it was even in his email address handyed@... Which was a play on his occupation, too.
Ken McFarland, leader of group dance tours to England, Florence and other places, passed away in late January at the age of 69. In the 90’s Ken lived in the Bay Area and was active in the Scottish and English dance scene. As a travel agent, he had the idea of organizing tours for dancers to dance in castles and country homes, first in Scotland for Scottish dancers, and in ’93, to England for English dancers. Many dancers from around the country went on Ken’s trips. Ken always brought along great talent, like Bruce Hamilton with Bare Necessities, and encouraged the intermingling of European and American dancers. He had an England trip planned for this spring, which has now been canceled. Ken and his partner Dennis lived in Anchorage, Alaska, and he will be greatly missed.
Bay Area Country Dancer N o . 1 1 9 – S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 9
By Victoria Williams
It was with sadness that the English Country Dance community learned of the death of Susie Langdon Kass. Many, and I mean many, of us in the ECD community had met Susie first in our lives as Scottish Country dancers. Susie brought the same energy and enthusiasm to her more-lately-found ECD world by tirelessly promoting the 4th Saturday Advanced English Country Dance. She was always the one to provide healthy snacks to counteract the preponderance of sugary treats at the evening break. I’m pretty sure she started the practice of washing the plastic forks and spoons so they could be re-used and wouldn’t end up in the landfill. I know Susie taught a number of dancers how to lace their dance shoes so they wouldn’t loosen or come undone, something she had been showing Scottish Country dancers for decades. We miss you, Susie Kass, and we thank you for making our world a better place.
Less than two weeks before the Dancer went to print, out community was saddened at the news of the passing of Susi Ostlund after a long illness. Her courage, her sunshine smile and her delightful sense of humor will be sorely missed. A tribute to Susi will be included in the Winter edition of the Dancer.