Birthdate: September 18, 1941 – URS date: May 13, 2014
OBITUARY
Kathryn Amina Peck Erickson
“She has become pure diamond in the sea.”
Kathryn died peacefully on the evening of Tuesday, May 13th, surrounded by loved ones at The San Francisco Zen Hospice Project.
Kathryn Amina, a student of Dances of Universal Peace founder Samuel Lewis, sang with the original Sufi Choir of Marin County, the Anything Goes Chorus of San Francisco, and finally the Threshold Choir of San Francisco. Known for her elegance and graciousness, her beauty and appreciation of beauty, Kathryn was a gifted gardener and a lover of animals. Over the years, she shared her Bernal Heights home with dogs, cats, canaries and finches. She traveled widely, and was an impeccable hostess with a sharp but subtle sense of humor.
Kathryn was born in Memphis, Tennessee. She attended Miss Hutchison’s school in Memphis and graduated from Central High School in 1959, and from Wellesley College in 1963. A small-business owner, generous to her employees, she operated boutique shops on San Francisco’s Pier 39 for 25 years. She was preceded in death by her mother and father, Beatrice and Dr. Cyrus Erickson, and brothers, Ted and Cyrus Jr. She is survived by her nephew Cyrus Erickson III; grandniece and grandnephews Abby, Houston and Colton Erickson; godchildren Joshua, Julia, Andrew, and Charles Tillinghast; and many dear friends.
A celebration of Kathryn’s life will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations in her name will be welcomed at the San Francisco Zen Hospice Project, 273 Page St., San Francisco, CA 94102, or at http://donatenow.networkforgood.org/zenhospice.
In the eighties, Shabda and I had a shop on Pier 39 (then a place where artists and people with unusual products had shops). We encouraged Katherine to join us there with her crystal jewelry. She opened the Crystal shop and became “the Crystal Lady.” Later, added Barbary Coast Boxes. We shared the work-place like we had the Garden of Allah in the 70’s. I started going to Bali to manufacture clothing for my shop, and one time took Katherine and Madura (then Zamiat, who had a store in the Haight). We had adventures there! Zamiat and Katherine became life-long close friends.
When I went to the Zen Hospice a couple weeks ago to say good-bye to my friend, I mentioned one adventure K and I had in SF. We went to “Slide” a nightclub under Ruby Sky to hear my son Solomon play music. “Do you remember that night?” I asked her. “Yes, I remember ALL of it”, she said. Good times with Katherine. She was present, clear, wry and loving to the end.
From the Cold Mountain Music web site, “Amina and the women of the Sufi Choir recorded Pure Diamond, with words by Richard Tillinghast and music by Allaudin Mathieu, in 1973. Written especially for Amina but never released commercially, the track has been remixed and remastered with modern technology, and is now accessible to all who have ears to hear her inspired, prescient music. Please download as a gift from Amina and those who sang with her during her loving and beneficent life.” http://coldmountainmusic.com/purediamond.html