Duncan J. Draper

Duncan John Draper, 66, passed away Tuesday, November 27 th , of complications from stroke. The musician died in Nova Scotia, surrounded by his family near the Annapolis Royal home where he had moved several years ago. Duncan lived a life that, to his credit, is difficult to summarize with job titles or credentials. A man of many projects, big and small, few problems could stand up to his ingenuity. He might have just as easily rebuilt a carburetor as helped a friend prepare a legal case. His unusual ability to fix anything was the impulse behind a life of constant involvement in home-building, cars, antique furniture and all things mechanical. Duncan was raised primarily in Fairfield, CT and Marblehead, MA, with several years of childhood spent living abroad in London, Brazil, and Taiwan. He was heavily marked by these experiences the only family member to immerse himself in the language and culture of Taiwan, and he spoke his whole life of the inequalities witnessed even as a young child in 1950s Sao Paulo. When he grew into the American countercultural and political movements of the 1960s, Duncan did so with a deeply humanistic and borderless perspective. He carried this through a life of social justice advocacy, from the anti-Vietnam War movement to fights for Single Payer healthcare and immigrants rights. He will be remembered admiringly as a decades-long dedicated and outspoken board member of the Marin Center for Peace and Justice. For many, Duncan's truest expression came through music. He was a talented multi-instrumentalist from a young age, beginning with boogie-woogie piano as a child and continuing on to study at Berklee College of Music, and to countless groups, genres, and instruments. With unfettered curiosity and talent, Duncan became an integral part of the musical communities in each home he took. For many years, he also worked as a musical accompanist for modern dance companies and schools in the Bay Area, and taught music in a variety of settings. Those countless musicians who shared a stage, rehearsal, or jam with Duncan will remember him for his intelligent, thoughtful musicianship, one that impressed a true generosity of spirit. Duncan was a deeply critical thinker, self-taught and well read to a remarkable breadth. He kept an eclectic and far-flung set of loyal friends, whom he engaged in wide-ranging passions and fascinations. And Duncan stood by those in trouble, especially the kind he knew too well, having led his own and others journeys to sobriety, quietly marking decades of clean living. Knowing how to contact all the people Duncan touched is a challenge. Duncan was more than a resident, but an invested contributor to the culture, community and causes of the San Geronimo Valley and wider Marin County, California; Marblehead, Massachusetts; Belfast, Maine; and his final home, Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. In each of these places, and more, Duncan will be deeply missed at all manner of all-night jam and music party, where he was always a galvanizing figure. Duncan was a proud parent and spouse, acting as a devoted supporter of his wife Naomis physical therapy practice as well as sons Nathaniel and Benjs creative endeavors. Duncan is the son of the late John and Patricia Draper of Marblehead, MA, and is survived by wife Naomi Draper and sons Benjamin and Nathaniel. He is also remembered and deeply missed by sisters Susan Walker of Marblehead, Massachusetts and Jayne Jackson of Gloucester, Massachusetts, and brother Michael Draper of San Francisco, California, and their families. A celebration of life gathering will be held between 5-7pm, Sunday, Dec. 23rd at (his sister) Susan Walkers home at 12 Crown Way, Marblehead. Please stop by and share a memory, photograph or music with Duncan's family- wife Naomi, sons Nathaniel and Benj.