Last night folk music lost one of our dearest friends. On October 24, Faith Petric died at the age of 98. She had been performing up through the last few years. (You can see videos of her performing Geritol Gypsy and You Ain’t Been Doing Nothing If You Ain’t Been Called a Red.) Faith was a mainstay of the San Francisco folk community and a mentor to hundreds, if not thousands, of musicians. Here’s a link to a lovely remembrance by Stephen Taylor.
At 98, it would be hard to call Faith’s death unexpected, but it’s a huge loss. I met Faith when I was fifteen, producing a benefit concert for the homeless at my high school in conjunction with the People’s Music Network conference that year in Washington DC. Being fifteen, and from the east, I’d never heard of her, but she was invited onstage by the other musicians. She had the most inviting personality of any performer I’d ever seen. Without any artifice, she led us all in Jerry and Bev Praver’s song, “This Old Man Should Go Back Home.” It became a staple of my repertoire for the rest of the Reagan administration.
Years later, Faith donated her beautiful recording of If I Could Be the Rain for a CD I produced, Singing Through the Hard Times – a Tribute to Utah Phillips. She was as gracious and warm as ever.
I was in touch with Faith only a few times since then, but I’ve always felt a warmth, admiration, and kinship with her. The world is a little sadder tonight for her loss.
Goodbye, Faith. It was a pleasure to know you.
Note: This post was updated with a couple of corrected details on October 31.
Oh, Faith, I think I really thought you’d go on forever – the world is a smaller place without you.
Dan, Thank you for your post honoring Faith Petric. Just for the record, however, Faith did not die of a long illness. She was remarkably active and, given her age, was doing very well until the summer. At that point, it was felt that she wasn’t able to safely get around her house and take care of herself, as she had taken too many spills after having two hip replacements over the course of a couple of years, and in July, she moved into Coming Home Hospice in San Francisco. She had many visitors there, often 4 and 5 a day, she read, sang, and was regaled with music, stories, much love, and chocolate, and slhe celebrated her 98th birthday there in September with no less than three parties. Faith had a rapid decline over the past few weeks and died peacefully with her daughter beside her. The “long illness” was mistakenly put forth in another blog posting, which has since been corrected by the author, but the phrase has been picked up and repeated. Faith’s family and friends would appreciate your correcting that statement.
Thank you again.
Helena H-B
Thank you for letting me know; I made the corrections. The last time I talked to Faith in person was a few years back, and I’m very far from the west coast scene (though I’ve been invited to do a few shows out there – I really should find a way to do that). I knew she had been active fairly recently, so I was surprised at the “long illness” I read and passed on, but people’s definitions of “long” vary, and it’s an oft-used euphemism in obituaries. But somehow, I don’t think Faith would have wanted any euphemisms, particularly inaccurate ones. What a remarkable human being!
Thank you, Dan. And you’re right — Faith was not one to mince words. I know how she disliked it when people would say things like “she’s 95 years young!” An amazing woman, and such a good life she led. She did so much for so many, and she didn’t stop until very near the end.
By the way, there are a lot of YouTube vids of Faith, old and more recent — including her entire performance at the 2012 SF Free Folk Festival.
And by chance, I just happened to stumble upon (on YouTube) and listen to your recording of “Queen of the Rails” — what a beautiful performance! Really lovely, both singing and playing. Thank you for the music.
Best wishes to you.
Thank you! I’ve had good role models, Faith among them.
Thank you for having a great influence on me Tia Faith.