JON SIEVERT (#23): One year ago yesterday, my good friend and mentor Jon Sievert died of a heart attack. I wanted to write about Jon today, because the last time I saw him was when he came to the house to watch the NFL Conference Championship game between his San Francisco 49ers and the Green Bay Packers. Jon was thrilled his 49ers won 37 to 20. We had watched 4 games together, the first was a last second 17 to 20 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Then Jon’s 49ers beat Cathy’s Seahawks and the Atlanta Falcons. Today is Championship Sunday, two weeks before the Super Bowl.
Jon and I had big plans. CAST Of CHARACTERS Productions was going to film the Tom Paxton Benefit Concert for Caminamos Juntos that Jon had arranged and we were going to watch the 49ers vs. Chiefs in the Super Bowl. We never got the chance.
Every other Saturday Jon and I went to his favorite, La Media Naranja, for brunch. He helped me buy and set up my 27” iMac for video editing. He gave me the confidence to keep pushing forward with CAST Of CHARACTERS, “I know you don’t know what you’re doing, but you work hard. This will be fun to watch.”
In turn, I nudged Jon to keep working on his music photography book, “Shooting Giants.” Cathy contacted her publisher, Peter Schiffer with Schiffer Publishing, and Jon was assigned an editor. The editor and Jon reached an impasse. The editor knew of Jon’s work as an editor and photographer for “Guitar Player Magazine” and wanted the book to feature 100 famous guitar players. Jon wanted to feature his 100 favorite musicians. The editor said that could be a second book, but Jon told me, “I don’t think I’ll be around for a second book.”
I put together a loose leaf binder as the start of “Shooting Giants”. It featured 40 pieces Jon had finished with photos and narrative about his favorites. He was going to give me 10 more the next week, and thought he could finish five more each week. In ten weeks we would have a draft of the completed “Shooting Giants”. That never happened, but Jon did sign my draft. A friend of Jon’s, who is an agent and represents the estate of famous music photographer Jim Marshall, is going to finish the book as soon as Wendy can safely get Jon’s negatives to him.
Christmas has been tough for Cathy and me since our parents died. A bright spot was Jon and Wendy’s Christmas Day Party. It gave everyone that needed one, a warm, happy place to be with friends and make new friends on Christmas Day. Companionship, wine, and great food, featuring Wendy’s famous Gumbo, ham, and the covered dishes that everyone brought. Wendy is considering returning to the San Francisco Bay Area to build a home near her sisters. If she does, Cathy and I hope to keep the tradition of the Sievert Christmas Day Party going.
Here is Jon’s Celebration of Life, featuring family, friends, great music, and lots of Jon’s photographs. It was filmed by John Bohnel, with me as his assistant. We miss you Jon. You meet the most interesting people and make the best friends in San Miguel de Allende.