Greg Reznick (1955-2018)
Longtime San Francisco Branch member and our dear fellow Asilomar Committee member Greg Reznick passed away after a long battle with cancer. We are thankful to have known, worked, and danced with him, and to have called him our friend and colleague.
Dance had always been a part of Greg’s life for as long as he could remember. His parents were avid folk dancers and he started taking dance seriously in high school. He danced his way through college and followed his parents from international folk dance over to Scottish Country Dancing in the mid 1990’s.
SCD quickly became a passion that constantly threatened to take over his life. He was an active volunteer in the RSCDS San Francisco Branch for well over eighteen years, serving on the Branch Committee, as the Branch's webmaster and most recently, as the editor of the Reel and Strathspeyper, our branch newsletter.
Greg’s business background was in technology marketing from which he retired. Instead, recently his time off the dance floor was mostly occupied by grandchildren and guitars.
Greg was a long-time member of the Bay area's Lafayette and Livermore classes. He was a founding member of the performance dance troupe New World Dancers, and was the class manager until his move up to Portland a few years ago. For many years Greg was the sound engineer for many Branch events including the Pleasanton Highland Gathering & Games, and the Beginner Ball. He continued to volunteer and do the sound for these Branch events even after he moved.
After many years of dancing in social and demonstration classes, Greg took the plunge and sat his teaching exams, earning his full certificate at T.A.C. in 2012. He was often heard to say that his primary assets as a dance teacher are being “loud and bossy”, but his enthusiasm for the dance was always evident and often contagious. Greg and wife Olga could often be found dancing in a lively set on the dance floor. Greg taught at the Crockett and Portland classes, and has been an active contributor to the Asilomar Weekend for many years (dancing, doing sound, teaching ball reviews and performing ceilidh acts). Greg was a member of our core teaching staff at the Asilomar Weekend in 2014 and had served as the Fundraising Chair for the Asilomar Weekend since Fall 2014, working hard to establish the Asilomar Fund.
Our heartfelt sympathies, love and hugs go out to Olga and to all of Greg’s family and friends who grieve his death. Greg was kind, brilliant, humble, funny, creative, thoughtful, giving, sage... you all know. He will be sorely missed. And thank you Greg, we will think of you, and talk to and about you often. We are honored to have been among your friends.
San Francisco Branch is honoring and remembering Greg in a number of ways. First, the branch has added Greg's dance Lost and Found to the April monthly party program. Chair Don MacQueen will say a few words beforehand about Greg's extensive contributions to the Branch. There will be a photo album and message book featuring Greg available at the next three monthly parties — please feel free to add a note or a few thoughts to it — and afterwards this will be given to Olga. The New World Scottish Dancers will host a Remembrance Dance on the afternoon of Saturday June 30, 1:30 to 4:45 pm at St. Clement’s Church in Berkeley. Click here for Dance Descriptions
Here's "The Spurtle King", a video made in honor of Greg by Viki Lewis. Or view directly on Youtube
Donations in memory of Greg may be made to the Asilomar Fund .