Lars Speyer

Lars Speyer, 82, passed away at home on Saturday, June 23, 2007. He is survived by his wife Lorraine Capparell, daughter Lara Speyer, son David Speyer, sister Lorle Kennedy, several nieces and nephews, and a host of loving friends.

Lars was born in Stockholm, Sweden, on March 10, 1925, to Alice and Siegfried Levy Speyer. After his father died in 1931, his mother, three-year-old sister Lorle and widowed grandmother moved to Berlin, Germany, for a year before settling in Amsterdam, Holland. The family lived there for seven years before being convinced by an uncle to leave because of the German invasion of neighboring countries. In spite of friends' assurances that Holland was safe, the family left their home and traveled to Portugal.. Three weeks later the Germans invaded Holland. Lars and his family spent one year in Lisbon waiting for visas and ship accommodations to enter the United States. They arrived in New York in April 1940, and lived in Kew Gardens, Queens.

Lars joined the U.S. Army in 1943, served in Europe and was wounded in the Battle of the Bulge. He was hospitalized for six months in England before being returned to New York.

He followed his sister into photography school, and photography became his profession. Lars married Erica Fishman and they had two children; Lara Gita Speyer, born in New York, and David Leif Speyer in Redwood City after the family had moved to Palo Alto in 1955. Lars married Lorraine Capparell in July 1997.

Lars will be remembered as a master photographer, graphic designer, and pioneer in the world of multimedia and design. He was a teacher, event producer, philanthropist, and mentor for many artists nationally and internationally, and a social and political activist. Lars' mischievous sense of humor and his immense generosity will be remembered for years to come.

In 1967, deeply concerned about the war in Viet Nam, Lars and long-time friend, Richard Elmore, organized the Peace Torch Marathon during which a torch, lit from a flame from Hiroshima, Japan, was carried by foot from Grace Cathedral in San Francisco to Washington D.C. Lars acted as point man for the fifty-four day cross-country march, organizing local churches and media that resulted in countless thousands of people coming out to cheer the marchers, feed and house them, and help carry the torch to its destination, a huge rally on the Mall in Washington.

Lars' great gift of friendship will be remembered by all who loved him. For over twenty-five years, Lars and Lorraine hosted a weekly salon at their home where Lars was a creative catalyst for their many close friends. The family asks that donations in Lars' memory be made by supporting an artist through the purchase of his or her work. There will be a private memorial service at his home in Palo Alto.

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