Keith Katsumi Shirasawa

SHIRASAWA , Keith Katsumi
was a 53-year old Santa Monica, CA, born resident of Redwood City, CA, who passed away in Brooklyn, NY, on August 4, 2007, as a result of an injury sustained from an accident while vacationing in New York.
A celebration of Keith's life will be held on August 19, 2007, l:00 p.m., at Mountain Meadow Estates, 102 Canada Road, Woodside, CA 94062.
Upon graduation from University High School, in West Los Angeles, Keith attended California State University at Northridge, where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in Political Science. He later earned a dual master's degree in Gerontology and Urban Planning, at University of Southern California. Keith then worked as a consultant for a firm in Santa Monica, known as Gerontological Planning Associates, a management consulting service that provided planning, programming and designing of homes for the elderly and assessment of existing residential and care facilities for the elderly.
In the early 1980's, Keith relocated to Northern California, when he accepted a position with San Mateo County's Area Agency on Aging, where he ultimately became director. The Area Agency on Aging was established to provide leadership which addressed the needs of the county's elder citizens. Keith then moved on to Hess, Hughes & Associates, a consulting firm that specialized in analyzing county departments and ways to improve efficiency and productivity, which included studies on police and fire departments.
However, at about this time, Keith slowly began to gravitate toward his real passion, which was music. He would hang out at Gelb Music after work and started working there on Saturdays. Keith eventually made a meaningful and lasting career change and started working at Gelb full time, where he remained for the last 20 years. In Keith's spare time, he played in a band, "Along for the Ride", that performed at local clubs and for various charities.
Please visit gelbmusic.com for additional information.
Keith is survived by his friend, Linda Walker; sister, Ayako Masada; nieces, Cynthia Masada (Jeffrey Pepe), Lynn Masada (Eli Akiba); grandnieces, Nicole Pepe, Sami Akiba, Talia Akiba; and grandnephew, Anthony Pepe; cousins, Robert Maruoka, Skip (Mona) Masuda, Gary (Kathryn) Hirano, Kai Hirano, Michael (Robin) Hirano, Ruth (Ted) Kearn, and Aya (Jim) Johns.