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Jeffrey Betcher Obituary
June 6, 1960 - October 21, 2017
Jeffrey Betcher, poet, community organizer, designer of comfortable pants, and friend to all wounded people, died at his home in San Francisco's Bayview district on Saturday, October 21st, cared for by his closest friends.A native of Mount Vernon, Ohio, Jeffrey moved to San Francisco in the 1980s and cast his creative energy in many directions. He was a community activist who threw his whole self into every project he took on, from a peculiar little art salon to the Quesada Gardens Initiative to PeopleWearSF. He served as program and operations director for the Family Violence Prevention Fund during a crucial period of raising awareness and developing policy. As co-founder and for many years leader of the Quesada Gardens Initiative, he helped his neighbors turn a trash-filled median into a flourishing vegetable and flower garden that brought the community together and inspired a network of public spaces. And when he dreamed up a line of locally made streetwear "payamas" under the Yam Street brand, he felt compelled to also co-found an organization to support Bay Area textile makers, PeopleWearSF.
Jeffrey was always up for argument and disinclined to accept the status quo—variations on the phrase "What makes you say that?" were never far from his lips—and he remained a righteous activist to the very end, as he navigated a frustrating health care system. His essential Jeffreyness emerged perhaps most powerfully in his incredible grace in taking on cancer and his unflinching, hilarious writing about things most of us are afraid to think about, let alone verbalize.
It seems only right to give him the last words, a few lines from his 1997 poem "Do Not Cry By My Casket":
"So cry if you must, but not for me,
since I am rising with thread in hand
and sewn to you with love's loose stitch now
ready to ravel or pull for you at will."
Jeffrey is survived by his brother, Mark Betcher, and a wild variety of friends. A memorial will be held on Saturday, November 18th at 1747 Quesada Ave from 11:30am - 4:30pm. In lieu of flowers, consider a donation to UCSF Cancer Research https://giving.ucsf.edu/funds/cancer
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Jeffrey Betcher
6 Entries
Mimi Ghez
January 24, 2018
With Love's loose stitch I harken toward the waters of the Bay, where ashes pull and do, too, sway forever -
-- Mimi Ghez, fellow poet and activist and also a recipient of Jeffrey's great friendship for over 23 years (including my August 2017 trip from Chicago to see him and to say goodbye - please all worship Patron tequila for us)
LINDA ADEL
December 4, 2017
SO SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT EVERYONE LOSS OF A WONDERFUL PERSON WE NEVER GOT TO MEET OR TALK WE HAD ADSTABLISHED THERE WAS FAMILY CONNECTION BY NAME BETCHER AND WE HAD BEEN FB FRIENDS FOR FEW YEARS REST IN PEACE ILL SEE YOU SOMEDAY LINDA
Stephanie Rodriguez
November 6, 2017
Rest in peace. Your wonderfully written obituary was shared with me today. I'm glad I got to know you just a little through someone's tribute to you. You lived a good life through generous work.
Tracey Jay
November 3, 2017
An amazing man who inspired so many.
Jeffrey will be dearly missed.
November 2, 2017
So sorry to hear of Jeffrey's passing. An amazing man who did so much to create beauty at Quesada Gardens, so much other community work like SouthEast Food Access project. Will miss him!
P
October 26, 2017
So sorry for the loss of your brother. Cherish the memories and may the God of all comfort help you through this difficult times.
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