5 days ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Grateful Dead fan dies during 60th anniversary show in San Francisco
A Michigan man died Sunday during Dead & Company's final concert in Golden Gate Park, and his family has launched a fundraiser to help cover funeral and travel costs.
Fred Cothard, 54, collapsed while dancing during the band's set on the third night of their 60th anniversary run, according to his family. His partner, Jody Leddy, said in a Facebook post Wednesday that they were listening to the band perform 'They Love Each Other' when he fell.
'I was holding him, talking to him about his kids, and kissing him until hours after the doctor pronounced him,' Leddy wrote. 'This is the last photo of us, about two hours before he collapsed.'
No cause of death was provided.
Another Planet Entertainment, the event's promoter, referred questions to the San Francisco Police Department.
'Our thoughts are with the individual's family and loved ones,' a spokesperson for the Berkeley-based company said in a statement. Another Planet also produces the Outside Lands festival.
Cothard, a longtime fan of the Grateful Dead, had traveled to San Francisco with Leddy for the shows, which drew 60,000 fans nightly.
The concerts marked the band's 60th anniversary and what would have been Jerry Garcia's 83rd birthday. The event featured different setlists each night and guest appearances by Billy Strings, Sturgill Simpson and Trey Anastasio.
Cothard's children, 23-year-old twins Sadie and Sawyer, started a GoFundMe campaign to help bring their father's remains back to Constantine, Michigan, and cover funeral costs.
'Our dad was an incredible father and friend to all,' Sadie Cothard wrote on the fundraising page. 'Even though this was sudden and we were not there with him, we take comfort in knowing that he was surrounded by thousands of his Dead family, and the music that he loved so much.'
