facility in Northern California. Waiting for his test results, the Marin County Sheriff announced that on Wednesday, August 9,1995 at 4:23 a.m, Jerry Garcia was found dead lying in his bed, from a heart attack (Memories 52). Garcia had a vision of how he wanted people to remember him. Garcia explains, “Ideally, I would just like to disappear gracefully and not leave behind any legacy to hang people up. I don’t want people agonizing over who or what I was when I was here when I’m not here anymore. I would like to be thought of as a competent musician. That would be good. I’d like that”. (Burton 6) Garcia didn’t want to be remembered as an icon, he just wanted people to know what kind of musician he was.In memory of Garcia and the Grateful Dead, Mayor Frank M. Jordan of San Francisco ordered city flags at half mast. Massachusetts governor William Weld, not only mourned the loss of Garcia but said, “It’s a loss to both my generation and my children’s. I had tickets for a scheduled concert September 16, and would still go if the band decided to soldier on.”(Willman 10) Also President Clinton stated at a live press conference that the death of Garcia was a loss to the entire country. Many political figures came out of the closet after the death of Garcia.August 11, 1995 two days after the death of Garcia, a ceremonial gathering was held at pp 12Golden Gate Park for the remaining members of The Grateful Dead and their fans. Deadheads traveled from all over the country to pay their respects, and to find out that the Grateful Dead was no more. People were giving speeches, trying to reach over the sobbing and tears. At the end of the ceremony the remaining band members and their family went to spread the ashes of Garcia off the Golden Gate Bridge, into the San Francisco Bay ( Burton 7). Annually, since the death of Garcia and The Dead, there has been an annual Further Fe...
