There Were Sad Times, Too…(For Peter Adams, Stained Glass Artist)

Sharon.jpeg

When Sharon Zugay was diagnosed with terminal cancer in the late 1970s, her many Coastside friends offered help and support—but mostly they gave their hearts.

I remember Sharon as a beautiful young woman—one of those very special young people who are like fairy dust—-

She and her twin sister, Karen, were simply stunning.

Sharon lived with other artists in an historic house (the artichoke king Dante Dianda’s home) which stood next door to the “Sun House” where jewelery and beads were sold (now

At the time there weren’t many of us on the Coastside—and I define “usâ€? as outsiders or newcomers, around college age, with similar reasons for being here. The loss of Sharon was devastating…it was as if we were one body and Sharon represented a living, vital part that we were going to have to live without…

I will never forget the “farewellâ€? disguised as a benefit concert held for Sharon at the Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society. (As usual, Pete Douglas, was generous, turning over his Miramar “digsâ€? to the locals for what was a memorial service with the lovely lady who was soon to be mourned present.)

My last image of Sharon was of her being rolled out in a wheelchair, the Dennis Swensen painting you see in the printed notice hanging on the stage behind her.