Editor's note: This is a semi-regular feature that announces the deaths of people who lived in or impacted Santa Monica. Oftentimes the names and information are gathered from the ends of City Council meetings, when council adjourns in the memory of those who've passed.
Three Santa Monicans — who fought segregation, gridlock, and rising rents, respectively — died last month.
Guy Carawan
Guy Carawan, a folk singer and activist, was born in Santa Monica in 1927. He attended UCLA and Occidental College before moving to Greenwich Village in 1952, where he joined the folk revival, Mayor Kevin McKeown told council last month.
At the first Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee meeting, he taught the group "We Shall Overcome," a song he learned from striking tobacco workers in Tennessee and a song that would become an anthem of the Civil Rights movement.
"I'm sure everyone on this dais has sung that song many times," McKeown said. "Together, with his wife Candi, Guy Carawan gave voice, courage, and strength to all those have struggled to make the world more just, more fair, and, more humane."
Carawan died on May 2.
Eric Falkowski
Retired city employee Eric Falkowski worked in the Parking and Traffic and the Transportation Management divisions in City Hall for 28 years, McKeown said.
"Eric will long be remembered for providing invaluable support to the his colleagues and the Santa Monica community," McKeown said. His unique brand of humor never ceased to brighten the mood of those who worked with him."
Lacy Goode
A longtime Santa Monica resident and employee of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District died on May 14.
Lacy Goode served on several boards and commissions, including the Rent Control Board — an elected position. He also served as a member of the community redevelopment agency in Los Angeles. He was a member of Santa Monicans for Renters' Rights, the city's largest political party, and a member of the First AME Church by the Sea in Santa Monica.
As an employee of the school district, Goode was a chief spokesman for the classified employees union.
His son, Darryl Goode, has served as the president of the local NAACP.
dave@www.smdp.com
