John Behanna

John Behanna 1933-2009 Born April 1933 in Highland Park, IL., He died in his sleep at home on Bluxome Street in San Francisco on Tuesday, January 13, 2009. John's education included Highland Park High School then to a B.S. in Engineering at the University of Miami, Tulane Institute of Design, California School of Fine Arts, Golden Gate College and many courses at Lockheed. He was a patron of the arts; not in the sense of spending lavish sums on famous artists, but by mentoring artists, finding them housing and introducing them to gallery owners and other artists. He was an accomplished photographer and his works were published in a book entitled Aspen Odyssey in the last days of his life while he was fighting cancer. Many friends and artists, such as Lawrence Ferlinghetti, stopped by during John's last days to pay a visit and get his signature on the new publication. He was a founding member of San Francisco CameraWorks and served as a board member. As the manager of a South of Market artist colony on Bluxome Street, John not only served as "the grown up" to numerous artists, but presided over elaborate art performances, such as the annual Pearl Harbor Day Celebration, an event that often ended with a flaming, almost life-sized, airplane flying on a guy wire across Bluxome Street. Luckily, John's loft apartment was just down the street from a fire station. Another passion of John's was politics. While he was adamant about state and national politics, he was most personally involved in San Francisco's: He was well known to virtually every local elected official over the last 40 years. Sheriff Michael Hennessey met John at a meeting of a small group called The Democratic League. "I was 31 years old, had never been involved with politics at all and John took me under his wing," Hennessey said. "He seemed to know everyone on the local political scene and he introduced me to all of them. Everyone made time for John and listened to his advice." As a photographer interested in politics, John developed an extraordinary portfolio of San Francisco politicians. He documented the night of George Moscone's election as mayor where one could see the current and future powerhouses, Phil and John Burton, Willie Brown, Art Agnos, Leo McCarthy, Richard Hongisto and a variety of labor leaders, all fighting for a spot on stage with the new mayor. This past year, one of John's obsessions was the election of Barack Obama. One of his few dying regrets was that he would not live long enough to see what changes President Obama would make and inspire. John was a board member of Irish American Democratic Club, the Golden Gate Democratic League. He was a member of the Irish Literary and Historical Society, San Francisco Tomorrow, Photo Alliance Gallery, and an energy conservation activist. John was a born boon companion with a magnetism which drew good humor from all around him. His large circle of friends will sorely miss his presence. As one of his last requests, his ashes will be buried beneath a Cyprus tree in N. San Juan, CA., where he spent months with special friends and designed and built his own high tech modular cabin. John is survived by his brother William R. Behanna and family of Mahwah, NJ.